


Midnight Snow

by Mona_Lisa



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alpha John, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Romance, Charles Augustus Magnussen Being Creepy, Developing Sherlock Holmes/John Watson, Enemies to Lovers, Gender Issues, Hurt Sherlock Holmes, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Sherlock, Omega Verse, Pining John Watson, Protective John Watson, Sherlock Being Sherlock, Sherlock Has Secrets, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:49:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27683140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mona_Lisa/pseuds/Mona_Lisa
Summary: Alpha John Watson is looking forward to the start of his 4th semester at Durham University where he's studying medicine. After breaking up with his long-term girlfriend Mary, he is ready to have some fun, no strings attached. But then he meets a beautiful, young student who apparently is a genius - and everything changes.But the student is quiet, reclusive even and he refuses to respond to John's advances which only makes him more fascinating. Will John be able to break the young man's barriers and prove to him that he's not a superficial, patronizing Alpha like so many others, but someone who is genuinely interested in him?
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Comments: 60
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello readers! I've decided to attempt writing A/B/O. I hope it works out!
> 
> A warning beforehand: As you can imagine, there will be some controversial Omegaverse related stuff. Sherlock is really struggling with his gender here, which will be a dominant subject in this story. Please be aware, that there WILL be non-con elements. I won't go into details but I will warn ahead of every chapter in which bad things are happening (this applies to other triggers as well). None of the bad stuff happens between John and Sherlock btw :)  
> Regarding the other major warning tag: I don't think there will be a lot of 'Graphic Violence', but I included it nevertheless, just to be safe. 
> 
> There will be lots of angst but there will be some fluff too and I also promise a happy ending, my Johnlock heart wouldn't allow anything else :)
> 
> I'm trying to update as fast as I can, and I'm very invested in this story but bear with me if it occasionally takes a little longer. I've outlined this story, I know what is going to happen to the characters, I know how it's going to end, but it's still a WIP and details can occur to me spontaneously, so I may add some tags if necessary.
> 
> One more thing: I have absolutely no medical knowledge, so forgive me if anything depicted here is wrong. I really tried my best researching toxicology and possible practice questions, but I have no idea, if these things would be taught to 4th semester students :) 
> 
> Feedback is very much appreciated ❤️ I'm always curious to know what my readers think about my writing :)

“John!”

A fist pounded harshly on the door.

“John! Come on, it’s late already! Get up!”

John groaned as he was snapped out of blissful oblivion and he turned onto his stomach, burying his face into his pillow. It couldn’t be morning yet. No, absolutely not, it was barely even bright outside.

“John! Are you deaf?”

The door was torn open and the round, chubby face of Mike Stamford peeked inside, as he shoved up the glasses that had slid down his nose.

“It’s our first class this semester. You don’t want to be late for that, do you? I heard Professor Magnussen refuses to let anyone coming even a minute late take the class.”

John groaned even louder, and he raised his head, banging it back into the pillow dramatically, causing his roommate to chuckle good-naturedly.

But it was no use, lingering in bed even longer. Mike was right. They shouldn’t be late for class. If the rumors about Professor Magnussen were true, the man was a real arsehole and he didn’t want to be ostracized by him from the very start. ‘Advanced Toxicology’ was one of the most important classes this semester, he couldn’t afford to fail this course or his whole plan of getting his medical degree in the optimal timeframe of six years would be in jeopardy. 

Maybe he shouldn’t have drunk those last couple of shots last night.

“Ugh, “he groaned as he finally dragged himself upright and sat at the edge of the bed, massaging his throbbing temples. 

“And why are you so cheerful this morning?” he asked as he shot an accusing look at his roommate. “It’s downright annoying.”

Mike chuckled and threw a book - the semester coursebook - into John’s lap. “Maybe it’s because I stuck to beer last night, instead of mixing it up with vodka and whiskey as you did. I know when to stop drinking, chap.”

“You could have stopped me, too, why didn’t you?”

“I tried, mate, “Mike said, grinning in surprised disbelief, “don’t you remember?”

“Not really.” 

With another heavy sigh, John heaved himself off the bed and shuffled over to their shared bathroom, stifling a yawn. 

“I’ll get us some coffee from the cafeteria, alright?” Mike said as he grabbed his bag and made for the door. “Be quick about your shower, class starts in twenty minutes. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Only offering a vague grunt of acknowledgment in return, John shut the bathroom door behind him and stepped under the shower. The hot water pouring down on his stiff, tired body felt heavenly. He sighed in content as he tipped his head back and closed his eyes against the hard jet of water from above. He could practically feel every cell in his body waking up, his muscles stirring as he stretched them, flexing his fingers as the fatigue was washed off of him. He grabbed his coconut-scented shower gel and began to quickly but efficiently clean himself, washing his short hair afterwards too. Although he usually preferred longer, slower showers, there was just no time for that today. Chiding himself silently for his thoughtlessness, he quickly got the job done. 

On the other hand, he was hardly to blame, was he? He shook his head almost indiscernibly, as he stepped out of the shower and quickly toweled himself dry, wrapping the towel around his hips perfunctorily. 

He grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth, as he went to his bedroom and pulled some random fresh clothes out of his drawers.

Who could berate him for sharing a few drinks with his best mates on the night before the start of the new semester? It was what they always did, every Sunday evening before the start of classes the next day. He and Mike, together with James Sholto who was an old childhood friend studying management here at Durham, and Greg Lestrade, who studied criminology, as well as a few other blokes. Several of them played in the University’s Rugby Team, including John and Greg.

Meeting up at John and Mike’s rooms to celebrate the start of the semester had become some sort of tradition between them and although they always started with just beer, one of them inevitably would suggest something stronger at some point in the evening. John always found it impossible to say no to the obligatory shots of vodka, whiskey, and/or rum he and his friends shared during a few rounds of cards. He didn’t want to be a spoilsport after all.

It was the beginning of his fourth semester and John was excited to be back at Durham University. His summer vacation had been long and dreary, as always. Mom had been even more depressed than usual and Harry’s drinking seemed to have gotten worse. It had almost driven him mad, sharing the limited space at their small apartment in Leeds, the place his mother had rented after his father’s death two years ago. Not even a handful of multicoloured tulips in an old cracked vase or the new shiny microwave his mother was so proud of having bought in a special sale at Home Bargains, made up for the depressing coldness inside that flat. Spending the whole two months of his vacation there was always unpleasant, but he had nowhere else to go and he couldn’t afford to travel, so he always ended up at home.

Well, it could only technically be called ‘home’ as he himself had barely lived there, and apart from that, it had never felt like home to him. 

The only thing taking his mind off things had been Mary, like always. Lovely, cheerful Mary Morstan. His beta girlfriend and childhood sweetheart, who he had been together with since they’d been sixteen years old. Eight years they had been a couple, and what a great eight years it had been. Mary simply was an incredible person: clever, funny, and sharp-tongued. 

They had grown up together, living in the same neighbourhood, and spent their free time in the woods, at the lake, riding their bikes, climbing trees, sneaking out of their homes to go on night walks on the hills. They had sat side by side at school every day and at some point when they were teenagers they had just snuck out at break time to go snog behind the gym. There had been no romantic exchanging of love confessions. It had just happened, simple as that. They had been together from that day on and no one around them had been surprised.

They had had so much fun together. They played tricks on their comrades at school, snuck out of school to smoke their first cigarette together, or to ride the rollercoaster down at the funfair, stealing a kiss up high in the sky on the big wheel, where everyone else was just tiny ants below them. Nothing meant anything, only Mary’s soft lips on John’s, her excited laugh as she buried her face into his shoulder, pretending to be afraid of heights. It had been truly glorious.

They had deflowered each other in John’s ancient Honda parked behind the deserted warehouses near Pump Wood and although it hadn’t been altogether fantastic, it had been rather nice, and John knew he would always cherish that memory. 

But over the years, the spark had been somewhat lost. They didn’t have a lot to talk about and the sex was only barely average. Mary had sensed it too which probably explained why she hadn’t been overly upset when he had sat her down at the end of the summer vacation just a week ago, and asked her if they could still be friends. 

She had smiled at him, her eyes warm and kind, and she had stroked his cheek fondly. “Take good care of yourself, John Watson, “she had said. 

“You too, “he had answered and they had shared one last kiss - open-mouthed but without tongues - before parting ways in a friendly manner, promising to always keep each other up to speed. Mary would go back to London to resume her training as a nurse whereas John would return to Durham where he studied medicine.

John smiled as he spat the toothpaste back into the sink and rinsed his mouth. He had always wanted to be a doctor and he was on his good way to becoming one. He had already successfully completed a third of his studies now and he would not let anything get in the way of getting his degree.

He quickly dressed, brushed his hair, and took a scrutinizing glance in the mirror. 

_Still looking good, Johnny boy._

He smiled at his reflection, flashing straight, white teeth. He wasn’t particularly vain but he knew that he was a good-looking Alpha in his prime and the truth was that he enjoyed being one. Although he was somewhat short, his broad chest and shoulders, as well as his well-defined arms certainly made up for that. Having spent a year and a half of training in the army, he was used to hard physical labor, and even after leaving, he spent a lot of time in the gym or running outside to keep fit. Playing rugby regularly of course also helped. His soft blond hair and sun-tanned skin added to his roguish handsomeness and he had been told by a good source that his smile in combination with his bright blue eyes was stunning, apparently able to ‘light up a whole room’.

It became even more apparent from the various looks he was getting when he finally slipped out of the apartment, his bag strapped over his shoulder, a dry piece of rice cake jammed between his teeth: a sorry excuse for breakfast, but the only thing he could manage before class.

Girls of various ages and types threw him flirty or shy looks as he quickly made his way to the cafeteria, trying not to run in his haste to be punctual. He managed to wink at one brunette girl he had seen around somewhere and grinned when she blushed hard as he passed her by. 

He had always been popular, with boys and girls alike. The boys liked his casual friendliness, his loyalty, and honesty. He was the type you could share a few drinks with, play a quick round of darts with, go clubbing, easy fun to be around with. But he was fiercely loyal, too and he would always have his friends’ back, be it when they needed a study buddy in preparation for next week’s test, or someone who bought huge boxes of ice cream and three kinds of crips to watch Ghostbusters together after they had just been dumped by their latest girlfriend.

The girls liked him too, but that had never been an issue for John. He had always liked being the target of their attention and he sometimes engaged in harmless flirting with random girls. He had known that Mary didn’t mind, she probably had done the same. But they both had taken their exclusiveness seriously and John had never gone astray, had never bedded another girl even if there had been many offers.

Now, though, he was free as a bird. For the first time since he had become a man, he was single and ready to mingle, so to speak. 

It was exciting. Knowing he could sleep with anyone he liked, any one of those many people that showed an interest in him. Of course, he could always choose to enter into another relationship but he was not really interested in doing that. After spending eight years in a nice, but somewhat boring relationship, the last couple of years of which had even been long-distance, he felt entitled to just have some fun, no strings attached. 

He was still young after all. He could tie himself to someone else later when he was a doctor with his own practice and an impressive salary, a nice house in the suburbs, and a full bank account to his name. He wanted all that: a wife, kids, a house, maybe even a dog. 

But later. Now he was a young student, and he wanted to have some fun.

He could even choose to do something different this time. He didn’t have to hook up with another ‘boring’ Beta girl. Of course, there were so many of them, blond or brunette, petite or tall, slender or curvy. He could have whoever he wanted. But why always taste the same dish?

He could try an Alpha girl, for instance. It was rare for two Alphas to have sex, which did make sense on some level. But it was worth a try, wasn’t it? Who knew what he was missing?

On second thought, what he really wanted to try was sex with an Omega. He had heard lots of stories about incredible multiple orgasms. About how sharing a heat with an Omega would result in amazing, mind-blowing sex, with the participants ending up spending days in bed, tied together by a knot more often than not. 

John admittedly was very curious about all that. He was very curious about his knot, especially. Being an Alpha, it was a natural part of his anatomy. But he had never used it, never even seen it, being with a Beta. Betas weren’t made for taking a knot, and so he had no idea what it felt like. He was incredibly curious and was dying for a chance to get proof for the legendary tales that were spread around or if it was just some hogwash, one of the many myths that got scattered around because people thought it made them look cool.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many Omegas around. Apart from the fact that Omegas were the least common gender in the world, making up only fifteen percent of the world’s population, here on campus, the chance of getting to see one was even smaller. 

Because of the harsh laws, Omegas were only allowed to study at universities if they were bonded to someone. Only if their mate gave their consent and only if they made it through a very complicated application process with lots of tests and questionnaires, were they permitted to enter universities. 

It all seemed very unfair to John and he wished he could get a hold of an Omega, talk with them, ask their opinion on being treated like this. Did they hate being diminished to bearing children, taking care of the house, rarely allowed outside to enter other possible careers? Or was it okay for them, because it was in their nature to do those things and not the other ones?

John wished to know, but he didn’t know a single Omega.

Well, maybe he would get the chance to meet one this term. Like always at the start of a new semester, he would get to know many new people, maybe there would be an Omega among them? They would be bonded of course, not available to him, but he could befriend one anyway, couldn’t he? It didn’t always have to be about sex.

“John! There you are!”

The familiar voice of Mike Stamford pulled him out of his thoughts as he finally reached the cafeteria without realizing it. 

“I was on the verge of going without you, “Mike said in a reprimanding tone as he took his place at John’s side, quickly adjusting to his swift pace as he handed him a steaming paper cup of coffee. “Class is starting in five minutes.”

“Sorry, Mike, “John said with a quick smile at his best friend and a first grateful sip of his coffee. “I’ll buy you lunch later, alright? Make it up to you.”

Mike grinned at him with an eager nod, and John chuckled fondly. He knew that Mike wasn’t really angry with him. The Beta was a kind, gentle creature who wouldn’t hurt a fly. They had met on their very first day at Uni, both of them nervous but ambitious, and they had been inseparable ever since. It was a good thing they shared an apartment. Mike was his good conscience and his truest supporter, reminding him of upcoming deadlines for essays and papers, sliding up next to him on the couch in front of the TV to watch old Sci-Fi-movies on lazy Sunday afternoons. 

They entered the building reserved for medicine classes and hurried through long, winding corridors, passing several students still lingering outside on the floors, seemingly unconcerned about the classes about to take place.

“There we are.”

They stopped in front of one of the rooms, where in contrast to before nobody was waiting in front. Mike pushed the door open, John right behind him. 

“Oh blimey, there are almost no seats left, thanks to you.” Mike threw John another exasperated look, getting only a helpless shrug from John in return.

They made their way downwards and found two seats next to each other in the fourth row on the left side. It’s not where they would usually choose to sit. John didn’t like to sit too close to the front, that’s where the swots and bootlickers were sitting. But beggars couldn’t be choosers, so he swallowed his pride and took his seat. On the way down he saw several familiar faces and smiled or nodded at them, even if none of them were close friends. In the corner of his eye, he saw Sarah Sawyer, a red-haired Beta girl he was loosely befriended with. She shot him a shy smile as he passed her seat. 

Everyone was chatting animatedly with each other, catching up after the long vacation, and the room was filled with the scents of Alphas and Betas in various states of emotion: fruity and sweet when they were giddy with excitement or in some cases, tinted bitter and anxious because tests and papers and duties were about to start all over again. John could empathise with all of those, he was excited to meet new people and to learn new interesting things, but at the same time, he knew he would have to work hard getting the marks and results he was aiming for.

He had just managed to take his notebook, his pencil case, and his bottled water out of his bag when one of the doors in the front opened and the professor came in. John studied him with a curious look: he had heard quite a lot about this man but had never met him before. The man only taught fourth-semester-courses and upward, probably couldn’t be bothered passing on the very basics of his profession.  


He was tall and thin, elegantly clad in a beige three-piece suit, as he stepped to the front desk where he left his expensive-looking briefcase, his eyes roaming over the large lecture room, taking in the various student’s faces. He seemed to be maybe fifty years old, probably a little older. His piercing blue eyes were shark-like as they scrutinized one face after the other through frameless glasses and John and Mike looked at each other warily. The way the professor looked at them was almost unsettling and John thought that there had probably never been a teacher he had taken a disliking to so quickly.

Finally, the man’s gaze dropped and he ran bony, long fingers through his receding grey-blond hair, which matched his meticulous beard, as he cleared his throat. 

“Good morning, students, “he addressed the class in a strong, and somehow melodic voice. 

Everyone fell silent at once. 

“I’m Professor Magnussen. Welcome to ‘Advanced Toxicology’.” 

The professor did not smile as he looked at his watch in a demonstrative manner. “It’s precisely 8:15 and class will now be starting. I’m glad to see you’ve all made it here in time. Please be informed that I will not tolerate latecomers.” 

With this, he inclined his head towards the doors behind the students. “My assistants are outside and will turn away anyone showing up after 8:15. I will make absolutely no exceptions. I don’t want to know about you having overslept or your mother calling about your sick grandmother. I don’t want to know about your dead dog or the bad case of flu you recently suffered. I don’t want to hear any of it. I have strict rules in this classroom and if you want to be a part of it, you will abide by these rules.”

“Talking about a stick up the arse, “John muttered drily, and Mike next to him snickered behind a fist to his mouth. 

After this friendly little introduction, Professor Magnussen proceeded to explain this semester’s workload to the students. It turned out to be very very much and John noticed several students frowning as they looked at the Power Point presentation with the list of various assignments they had to do in order to pass the class. He suspected that many of them were probably considering switching to another course if they could, hopefully with a kinder professor during this term, or maybe next semester if possible. 

But John wanted to stay. He realized that Magnussen was a creepy arsehole and he knew the course would be incredibly hard, but he knew he could do it. He had always been a very ambitious man and he wanted to rise to this challenge, show everybody, including himself, that he could do this. Prove that arrogant sod that there were students worth his time.

Besides, getting into a different course would be very difficult. 

He noticed Mike’s worried look, could smell his scent sour slightly with unease, and he bent his head towards him, careful to speak quietly. “Oi, don’t worry, old pal. We’ll study together, show that old goose what we’re made of, right?”

“Right.” Mike smiled in relief, clearly appreciating that John seemed so unconcerned in the face of Professor Magnussen’s daunting sermon. John in turn was glad that he could ease his friend’s mind so easily. They had each other’s backs, as always.

While absently listening to Magnussen carry on about the paper due at the end of the semester, his eyes started to wander around the room. He noticed two large guys sitting slightly more to the left in the row in front of them, both of them probably Alphas. Their heads were stuck together as they whispered to each other, snickering quietly, momentarily unnoticed by Magnussen who was turned towards the other side of the room. John could see one of them pointing at something in front of him: it was a porn magazine, bold red letters announcing ‘Obedient Omega Sluts’ and there was a blur of naked bodies writhing underneath. John rolled his eyes and turned away in disgust. Those were exactly the kind of people he didn’t need to socialise with.

One could think they were still in secondary school. _Prats._

His eyes roamed further around and that’s when he saw him. 

A pale, lanky student in the first row on the right side, his bright green eyes focussed on the pacing professor, pencil ready in his bony hand. John was struck by how beautiful the guy was.

Thick layers of chocolate-coloured curls framed the angular face, a couple of which dared to hang loose into the boy’s high brow. Alabaster skin and ridiculously high cheekbones combined with its other lean features made his face look somewhat special, and it was hard not to stare at his plush lips, slightly parted as he stuck his pencil in between them while he listened to the professor talking. His long pale throat was exposed from underneath the cut-out of a tight blue shirt clinging to his thin body, an elegant black blazer covering his slight, squared back shoulders. 

He looked very very young. 

_Is he even eighteen? How can he be here, this is a fourth-semester-course, for God’s sake._

John’s mouth went dry as he kept watching the student on the other side of the room, completely mesmerized by his angelic features, the Professor’s words only a blurry voice somewhere far far away. 

It suddenly occurred to him how ridiculous he had been. He hadn’t even considered bedding another man. Being a natural with girls, John knew he would not ever have trouble finding a pretty female to get intimate with, but now he realized there were other options he ought to consider.

Possibly better, _much much better_ options. 

He closed his mouth in embarrassment when he realized that it had been open, cheeks flushing slightly scarlet. 

But he still couldn’t avert his gaze. He found himself aching with the need to know more about the guy.

_God, what is he? Alpha or Beta? An Omega even?_

_Christ, he looks so young, what kind of a pervert am I? On the other hand, he must be at least 21, being in this course..._

His throat constricted around a tight knot and he swallowed hard, finally managing to turn his eyes away from the gorgeous creature sitting just a few meters away.

_Get a grip on yourself, Watson, what is wrong with you?_

He saw Mike glance at him curiously, looking slightly puzzled. Even though the olfactory senses of Betas were not as keen as those of the other two genders, his friend could probably nevertheless smell what must be an embarrassing mixture of awe, excitement, and lust. Christ, he was probably reeking.

He shot a nervous smile at Mike and focussed on Magnussen again, trying to concentrate on the Power Point, on Magnussen’s words, forcing himself not to look at the student with the piercing blue eyes and the ridiculously plump lips. It was almost preposterous how hard it was, keeping his eyes away from him. Surely nobody human could have that kind of effect on him, could they? 

“And this is what you need to keep in mind if you want to get at least average results at the end of this course,“ Magnussen was just saying. He fell silent as he studied the subdued expression on the faces of his students, most of which averted their gaze when he turned his cold eyes on them, only a handful of brave ones daring to meet them.

To everyone’s amazement, the professor chuckled then, a smile that did not reach his eyes spreading out on his thin lips. His eyebrows arched condescendingly and he shook his head, just a little, as if amazed at the display of ignorance he was facing.

“You’re all looking at me like monkeys at the zoo. I realize that my workload is not what anyone would call ‘easy’ - he accentuated the word with quotation marks in the air, scoffing in disgust - “...but you’re no beginners. You’re fourth-semesters, I can expect some sort of proficiency here, can’t I?”

When he expectedly didn’t get any answers he grimaced in overplayed disappointment and started to pace in front of the class again.

“It seems I must test the waters a little, examine what kind of ignorance I am up against.” 

He stopped and straightened his back, holding his hands behind his back as he studied them once again with his frosty gaze, his mouth twitching almost grotesquely.

“Now hear this, “he said, raising his voice, letting his eyes roam over them as if he was a Captain announcing the next drill to his soldiers. “I’m going to ask a few questions, all of which should be no problem for you to answer if you’ve studied Casarett and Doull’s ‘Toxicology - The Basic Science of Poisons’, like I asked you to in my e-mail to everyone enrolled on this course. I will single out students randomly, those chosen will have to answer those questions. Anyone not able to give the correct answer to the question is out of the class. Understood?”

Shocked silence spread through the room and Magnussen’s cold stare even caused one or two pupils to gasp in horror.

“Is he serious?” John murmured to Mike, momentarily forgetting the beautiful young man in the second row.

There had been an e-mail, yes, but it had been sent only two weeks ago. Did Magnussen truly expect his students to read this huge tome of a book in this short amount of time? Most of the students had been busy writing papers or had been still off abroad during the time. He himself had managed to more or less browse through the book, but only because he had died of boredom one day at home when Mary had been away at her aunt’s birthday party. 

All of the students present here had to have passed the mandatory ‘Introduction to Toxicology’ class before being allowed to enrol on this advanced course, so everyone would have at least a standard knowledge of the topic. 

Still, this was bloody insane.

Everyone was staring at Magnussen with disbelief and he chuckled as he tilted his head and body to the side, stroking his beard seemingly pensively.

“Now now, no need to wet your trousers. If you’ve studied hard and that’s what I assume when you’re sitting here, all aspiring to work in the challenging medical profession in one way or another, you won’t have any problems with this. So let’s begin.”

He stepped forward, approaching a blonde girl in the first row, and leaned forward into her personal space, inclining his head towards her.

“What’s the major toxic effect of hydrogen cyanide exposure?”

She stared at him, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, and he made an impatient gesture with his hand, urging her to answer.

“Uhm … Oh God … I’m not sure! I think it’s ... inhibition of mitochondrial respiration!” she blurted out, and looked at him in fear as she awaited his reaction. Everyone watched, holding their breaths in silent tension, until Magnussen finally graced her with one of his dead cold-eyed smiles, after which he nodded and moved on. 

He slowly climbed up the stairs in the middle of the room and John could detect the increasing scents of fear and terror permeating the air. The situation was horrible, but he couldn’t do anything but stare in disbelief.

Magnussen stopped and lazily studied the terrified faces of the students left from him. 

“Which form of mercury was the predominant cause of Minamata Bay disease?” he suddenly asked, pointing at a lad with red curls, sitting in the middle. “Yes, you, I mean you, “he said sharply when the boy paled, pointing at himself in question.

“Uhm….er…..” The guy was sweating profusely, his eyes darting frantically right and left at his neighbours for help he unexpectedly didn’t get.

Magnussen rolled his eyes and sighed heavily, fixing the poor guy with a pointed glare. The student looked as if he was just shy of bursting into tears.

“Out! Out with you!” Magnussen jerked his head towards the door and the lad stifled a sob as he grabbed his bag, almost falling over his feet as he hurried towards the exit. Everybody stared at Magnussen in horror, including John and Mike, and John knew without a doubt that there would definitely be a lot fewer people present next class.

“Arrogant prick, “he mumbled angrily, and Mike nodded, as he swallowed nervously, his eyes following Magnussen’s movements like a rabbit observing the wolf about to eat him.

Suddenly, Magnussen stood in front of them. Long wiry fingers landed on the desk in front of him, and the heavy, wooden scent of an older Alpha filled his nostrils. There was something in his scent that caught John’s attention, something that unexpectedly made his stomach churn and his eyes widened when he realized what it was: excitement. Professor Magnussen was loving this, torturing his students, unmistakably getting off on his power he held over them. It was downright sickening and John barely suppressed a growl, the instinctual reaction to another threatening Alpha. 

He could hear the man clear his throat in a warning and he forced himself to raise his head to meet the expectant gaze of the cruel man in front of him.

“The most commonly used pyrethroid synergist, what is it?” Magnussen asked as his eyes pierced into John. His eyebrow twitched when John just glared at him, his anger visible on his face for everybody to see, clear as day. Magnussen scoffed and his eyes twinkled, seemingly amused by John’s blatant display of emotions in the face of his teacher. When he opened his mouth to dismiss him just like the other guy, John interceded quickly.

”Piperonyl butoxide.”

Magnussen’s eyebrows shot up. “Very good,“ he said in mock admiration, his voice dripping with condescendence and John’s heart pounded in his chest as he forced himself to keep looking at him. Magnussen’s gaze lingered on him curiously, before his lips curled up in a mocking smile. Then he turned and moved on. 

“Wow, “Mike whispered next to him, and John simply nodded in agreement, his shoulders slumping as he let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in.

Magnussen continued to question other students, occasionally throwing someone out, other times praising someone for giving the correct answer. One of the boastful Alphas John had noticed before, the one with the unruly blond hair, answered a particularly hard question and Magnussen nodded his head in what seemed genuine appreciation.

Finally, the professor seemed satisfied and he turned back towards his desk, presumably to resume his lecture. But then his eyes fell on the blue-eyed student in the front and something flashed in his eyes. John watched nervously as the professor approached the young man, fixing him with a curious glance as the student looked at him with fire in his eyes. It was obvious he was seething with anger, barely controlling himself as he stared at the professor, his pale eyes burning with disgust and John clenched his fists helplessly at the sight of him. Was the lad mad? Did he not see that his reaction was turning Magnussen’s attention onto him?

“You, “Magnussen addressed the student, seemingly as mesmerized by him as John had been just a few minutes before, “what’s the target organ of streptomycin-induced toxicity?”

“The ears!” was the instant reply, and John admired how the kid refused to lower his gaze in front of the tall man looming over him, obviously trying to intimidate him.

“Alright.” Magnussen acknowledged the right answer graciously. Then he turned around, touching his finger to his chin as he tipped his head back, apparently considering another question.

“What’s the mechanism of neurotoxicity for strychnine?”

The kid smiled and said “Glycine receptor antagonist.”

“Correct.” Magnussen’s tone was appreciative, as he continued to appraise the student in front of him. The students in the room were getting restless, John noticed. This seemed unnecessarily cruel. The professor obviously seemed to have it in for the kid. 

John himself was stiff as a board, his whole body tense as if readying itself to attack, his eyes focussed on the man and the student a few meters away, watching the scene in front of him as if it was a huge bear approaching his prey, unaware of the danger it was facing.

Something in Magnussen’s black eyes twinkled and the thin lips curled into a self-satisfied grin.

He turned back towards the lad. 

“What changes in serum enzyme levels are indicative of acute hepatocellular injury?” he asked, in an almost gentle, soothing voice.

“That’s not fair!” Mike gasped beside him. “That’s not in the book, it’s sixth-semester material, even I don’t know the answer to that question. How mean can he be?”

John nodded angrily in agreement. This wasn’t right. What was wrong with this professor? He gritted his teeth as he decided that he would do something about this. He would go to the dean, he would let him know that one of their professors was treating students inhumanely, he would…

“Increased alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase.”

Everyone was staring at the blue-eyed student. He was sitting back in his seat with his arms crossed, a loose smile on his lips as he looked up at Magnussen in gleeful triumph, defying him to tell him he was wrong. Magnussen was staring at him in irritation and surprise, his hand gripping into the table as he forced his mouth closed and once more turned his face into an emotionless mask.

“That is correct, “he said slowly. He didn’t ask how the student had known the answer, an answer he couldn’t have known because it hadn’t been taught yet. He just accepted that he had.

“What is your name, boy?” he asked instead.

“Williams. Scott Williams, “the boy replied calmly.

Magnussen continued to stare at him for a few more seconds. Then he nodded, smiled, and returned to his desk. Everyone in the room seemed to sigh with relief, excluding the blue-eyed boy who was staring at Magnussen’s back with barely repressed disgust.

“Wow. Who _is_ that guy?” Mike breathed out, and John would very definitely like to know too because he certainly hadn’t seen that kid until today. If he had, he definitely would have noticed him. 

“Order, please. Order.” Magnussen clapped into his hands as he once again let his eyes roam around the room and everyone quieted down again quickly.

“We have fifteen more minutes, “Magnussen said with a quick look at his watch. “Let’s make the most of it. Now, we’ll start with the very most basics….”

He resumed his lecture, but John was once again barely able to concentrate on his words. He was still amazed by what had just happened and his eyes were drawn to the thin kid in the first row who had somehow managed to defeat the arrogant Professor in a seemingly uneven battle of wits.

_Scott Williams. Who indeed are you?_

His heart stuttered in his chest when suddenly somehow their eyes met across the room. Pale blue eyes lit up in light surprise as they fixed him with a piercing stare and John swallowed as he found himself the subject of intense scrutiny. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he looked at the boy looking at him. Sudden heat crept upon him, spreading through his whole body. His throat felt tight and he fumbled at his collar in a meek attempt to get more air.

He wanted to smile at the lad. He wanted to nod at him, let him know that he had seen what he had done and that he was very impressed. But all he did was stare, staring like a lunatic at this beautiful human being and he almost laughed as his brain provided him with the image of his tongue rolling out his mouth as if he was in a silly Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Then the pale blue eyes hardened and he looked away. John felt as if he had been slapped in the face and he kept his eyes on the other student, hoping he would look at him again, chiding himself internally for how pathetic he was being. But the young man called Scott Williams didn’t look back at him. He kept his eyes on Professor Magnussen, diligently taking notes as if nothing uncommon had ever happened. 

John eventually forced himself to avert his gaze to take some notes too. It wouldn’t do to miss out on the very basics of the course. If he wanted to see that kid again - hopefully, every week on Mondays during this course - he would need to do his best and keep up with Magnussen’s workload. He was sure that the malicious man would test his students regularly just because he could, and expel anyone who messed up even a little bit. With a grim smile on his lips, he swore to himself that he would study hard to keep up and eventually pass the class.

The bell rang and Magnussen frowned.

“We’re a little behind, thanks to the little test I had to perform on you. We will have to catch up next time. Make sure to read Chapter 2 and 3 of Gupta’s ‘Fundamentals of Toxicology”, I’ll be asking you questions on types and classification of toxicants and poisons, so make sure to be prepared. Alright, class dismissed.”

He made the same dismissive gesture with his hand he had used before - it seemed to be one of his trademarks - and at once, almost all of the students jumped up, grabbing their stuff and almost tripping over themselves in their haste to get out. 

John and Mike looked at each other in mutual understanding, coming to a companionable agreement regarding their future in this course. Both of them were determined to pass the class. Mike was incredibly intelligent and always belonged to the best students in most of his classes. John could see that Mike felt as challenged and determined in this matter as he was and felt a surge of affection for his best friend. They would doubtlessly spend endless hours in the library and the lab, studying for this class, aiming to not only pass the class but also _surpass_ the Professor’s expectations. They would give their very best.

They would do this.

Just then, he saw the blue-eyed student hurry up the stairs on the other side of the room, disappearing behind the exit. Without thinking, he grabbed his bag and rushed up the stairs, too, pushing between other students on his way.

“John!” Mike shouted after him.

“Gimme five minutes, “John yelled over his shoulder. “Wait for me outside.”

He caught a glimpse of Mike nodding in surprise before he was out of the door. His eyes wildly searched the floor in front of him, and he groaned in frustration when he found himself unable to spot the lad he was looking for, lost in the increasing crowd of students streaming out of various classrooms.

But then he saw him. Dark curls, tall thin frame, clad in a dark jacket. He was at the end of the corridor, just about to exit the building. Smiling in relief, John started to sprint towards him.

He needed to catch him before he was lost in the huge crowds that were sure to be outside during break time.

He needed to know who Scott Williams was.


	2. Chapter 2

“Wait!” John shouted as he ran out of the building, barely catching a glimpse of the dark-haired student disappearing around the corner of the adjacent library.

Of course, the bloke didn’t stop. Why would he? There were dozens of students outside, John could mean just about anyone. He cursed himself for his stupidity as he sprinted after the guy, dodging people left and right to avoid a collision.

Luckily, he was able to immediately pinpoint him as soon as he rounded the corner: he was about to enter the library through the front entrance and John immediately started running towards him, hoping he would catch him before he was through the door.

“Wait!” he called once again and this time the kid looked up, just as he was about to enter the building. John could see him furrowing his brow in confusion as he watched John race towards him, finally stopping in front of him.

“Hi, “John said stupidly, trying to catch his breath and the expression on the kid’s face was priceless. He looked completely flummoxed.

Then his face changed, his eyes narrowing as he gave John a thorough once-over. “Yes?” he asked, his tone betraying his vexation at being addressed out of the blue like this. His voice was surprisingly deep for someone looking so very young and it did _things_ to John, giving rise to dirty thoughts that he definitely should avoid entertaining if he wanted to have something resembling a normal conversation.

John took another large gulp of air, his breathing finally slowing down, taking the opportunity to try to catch the young man’s scent as subtle as possible. He could detect a very faint aroma that reminded him of almonds and apples and interestingly, there was a touch of lemongrass. It lacked the spicy, musky notes typical of Alphas, nor did it possess the excessive sweetness that Omegas supposedly gave off. John had never scented an Omega before but any Omega here on campus would have to be bonded and he had heard that you’d be able to detect if a person was bonded right at the first scenting. This bloke in front of him did not smell bonded. Which meant that the lad in front of him was ….

 _… a Beta. Perfect._

“Hey,” he said as he put on what he hoped was a bright smile that would relax the other bloke. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to work. In fact, it seemed to make him even more suspicious as his expression darkened even further, his mouth tightening impatiently in ever-growing disapproval.

“You’re Scott Williams, right?” John asked, his tone light as he brazenly ignored the kid’s unconcealed hostility. 

A single eyebrow was raised haughtily. “Yes. And you’re the bloke from Magnussen’s class who stared at me.”

John cringed internally but his lips curled up in a carefree smirk as if he wasn’t even a little ashamed at being caught like that. “Yup, “he said with a light shrug, “that would be me.”

Scott - the name seemed a little strange for the kid as if it was meant for an older bloke - seemed irritated by his blatant smile and he huffed impatiently.

“Yes, alright. What do you want?”

John wasn’t easily flustered but he was a little nervous. He registered his pounding heart with surprise. It was a very rare occasion that someone made John Watson nervous but unfortunately, this was very bad timing. He didn’t want his normally so confident and easy-going charisma to be compromised, especially in a situation like this. So he tried to push the uneasiness away, never letting the smile on his face die. The way the bloke looked at him, full of distrust and impatience, he knew he was walking a fine line and he had to choose his next words carefully.

“I’d like to get to know you, “he finally said, getting directly to the point.

Scott’s face fell. He stared at John, looking completely dumbstruck. John’s lips twitched in an instantaneous reflex to laugh which he successfully stifled, to his great relief.

“Why?” Scott eventually asked, big blue eyes - _weren’t they green before?_ \- narrowing in distrust once again.

“No, don’t tell me, “he cut John off before he could say anything. “You just scented me. Don’t look at me like that, I saw it. Yes, I’m a Beta. And you’re an Alpha. So what? You want to go out with me? Go out on a date?”

John tilted his head to the side, grinning sheepishly. “Yes, I’d like that very much.”

“Ah, alright, “Scott said, his face dropping in obvious disgust and he turned and walked away from John.

Staring after him, dumbstruck by this unexpected development, it took John a few seconds to get himself to react. He caught himself and sprinted after Scott, grabbing him by the wrist to turn him around without thinking. His eyes widened when Scott immediately flinched and spun around, ripping his arm away from him, his face contorted into a belligerent snarl.

“Don’t! Touch me!” he hissed, raising his hands as if to defend himself.

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry!” John said, aghast, immediately taking a step back.

He was dismayed at Scott’s strong reaction, confused by what he realized was the smell of fear coming off of the other lad in waves. If he could smell it so strongly from a Beta, the poor kid really had to be terrified. Sending out calming pheromones with his own body, he raised his hands’ palms up while holding Scott’s gaze, hoping he could calm him down with the dual gesture.

Scott was watching him intently, his body sprung into fight-or-flight-mode as he waited for John to attack him. When John stayed completely still, trying to make himself appear as peaceful as possible, he eventually relaxed, exhaling shakily. His eyes still remained focussed on John though.

It was a little disconcerting, to say the least, to see this kid react that strongly to just one simple unheralded touch. John was worried but he saw that it was better not to approach that topic right now.

“Look, I’m really sorry, “he repeated in a soft tone. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Apology accepted, “Scott muttered quietly, sounding a little embarrassed, and John sighed in relief. His smile turned into a frown when Scott turned away again without preamble, obviously aiming to walk away from him once again.

“Wait, “he called out, forcing himself to remain where he was. 

Slowly and with a heavy sigh, Scott turned around again, rolling his eyes. He fixed John with an annoyed glare. “What?”

John met his glare calmly. “What did I say wrong?” he asked with sincere curiosity.

The glare intensified. “It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

John shrugged. “Not to me, it’s not.”

He watched patiently as Scott considered his answer, biting his lip, his jaw muscles twitching, and he looked so enticingly beautiful right at this moment that John had to stifle an appreciative sigh.

“You want to ask me out on a date, “Scott eventually said, his pale eyes hard as he raised them to John’s again.

“Yes. What’s wrong with that? Don’t you date?” John asked curiously.

“As a matter of fact, I don’t.” Scott snapped, growing more annoyed by the second.

“Why?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you” Scott retorted. “It’s just what it is. Can your stupid Alpha brain accept that? Do you understand what I’m saying, or do I have to put it into even simpler words?”

“Hey, hey, “John said with a chuckle, in spite of his growing anxiety, “no reason to insult me. I haven’t insulted you, have I?. I just asked you out. You don’t date, alright I got it. I’d still like to get to know you.”

“Now you’re insulting me, “Scott said angrily, taken aback.

“I’m really not, “John said and he thought he really ought to change tactics if he wanted to turn this conversation into something resembling a friendly exchanging of words any time soon. 

“I really mean. it. I accept your rule. I don’t understand it but I accept that you don’t want to date and that you don’t want to explain yourself. I’m sure you have your reasons. Whatever it is, it’s your decision, and I accept that.”

Scott studied him warily, disbelievingly. “Do you now?” he eventually sneered. He obviously thought that John was making fun of him.

“I do, “John said firmly, emphasizing his statement with an honest smile and a nod.

“Why would you want to get to know me better?” Scott asked, a little less hostile than before. “If it’s not to date me?”

“You seem interesting. I like interesting people, “John said with another shrug.

Scott stared at him in disbelief, his eyebrows raised as if to challenge his remark and John sighed.

“Look. I was really impressed with how you dealt with Magnussen. That guy was a real arse and you made him look like a fool. I swear, the whole class was cheering for you.”

“You think so?” Scott seemed surprised which in turn surprised John because how could Scott not have realized how brilliant he had been, how he had left every student in that class in awe of his obvious superior knowledge, but also the level of confidence with which he had proven it. Magnussen had a certain reputation on this campus and this smooth-skinned fresher had somehow managed to embarrass him in front of everybody. 

“You’re going to be the talk around town, “John said with a chuckle but Scott frowned. “What? You don’t like being the center of attention?”

“No, “Scott muttered, averting his gaze, “I don’t.”

“Oh, that’s too bad, “John said, without thinking.

“Why?”

John hesitated. “Well with you looking like that, it must be hard for you. To avoid drawing everybody’s attention, I mean..”

“What? Because I look like a freak?” Suddenly Scott was right in his face and John’s eyes widened as his scent glands were suddenly overwhelmed by the heady scent of anger and fear. At the same time, he was almost mesmerized by the wide bright eyes, suddenly so close. They were sparkling dangerously with defensive fury and he could practically feel his mouth turning dry.

“No, no, why would you think that?” he asked when he realized that he had been staring, appalled. “Because you are beautiful, you idiot!”

Scott immediately took a step back, his eyes widening in surprise. 

“I’m sorry,” John asked in disbelief. “I thought it was obvious, “he couldn’t stop himself saying, repeating Scott’s phrase from earlier. Scott actually looked up at that, a spark of approval flashing in his eyes, before he shook his head, looking disappointed.

“So that’s why you want to date me? Because you like my appearance?”

“I admit that’s a reason, “John conceded sincerely. “But as I said, I was also very impressed by how you dealt with Magnussen. You’re incredibly clever. That’s hot.”

Scott actually blushed at that. The sight of it brought sudden heat to the general area between John’s legs and he shifted, trying to keep the expression on his face neutral as he willed his unbidden physical reaction to disappear.

“How come you’re in that class anyway? “he asked, keeping the conversation going. “It’s the advanced course, meaning you’d need to have completed the “Introduction” course beforehand. That’s from the third semester.”

“Yes, “Scott said slowly, “aaand?” He looked as if he thought John was being exceptionally dim.

“Well, how old are you? Seems you’re a bit young to be taking this course.”

Storm-grey eyes sparkled challengingly. “I’m nineteen.”

John winced. So he _was_ almost as young as he looked.

“But...how?”

Scott sighed, waving his hand as if he couldn’t be bothered explaining all this, but he graciously did it anyway. 

“I’m in my second semester. I’m studying criminal forensics and chemistry.”

John looked at him in disbelief. “You’re not even studying medicine? So, why are you taking this course then?”

“I’ve spoken to the advisors here. As it happens, ‘Advanced Toxicology’ fits right into my timetable. It also fits in well with a few other courses I’m taking. I will get credit for the course, naturally. And I’ve done the ‘Introduction’ in my first semester, got special permission for that because of my entry marks”

“But...it’s one of the most difficult courses in the entire studies of medicine. Why would you choose such a course if you could just do one of the courses from your own faculty that would certainly be less hard?”

“Because I’m interested in the topic, “Scott said, the irritation returning to his voice. ”You know … I feel like I’m being subjected to an interrogation I didn’t agree to. I’m not in the mood for a game of twenty-one questions.”

With that, he turned and walked away again, towards one of the main dormitories.

Shaking his head at himself, cursing himself for his insensitivity, at the same time thinking that he _couldn’t seriously be running after this bloke for the third time_. Nevertheless, he hurried forward, catching up to walk beside Scott, at a safe distance this time.

“Sorry, I’m sorry. I’m really messing this up. I swear, I’m not doing this intentionally. Please, I just want to get to know you?”

Scott stopped abruptly and sighed, shaking his head as he stared at the ground. “You really don’t.”

John frowned. “Why not?”

Scott bit his lip, turning his head away. John could see that he was very tense and there was a nuance of burned apples in the air, filling the space between them with despair and sadness, and it almost frightened him. There was something about Scott that made him seem so...so vulnerable, reminding him of a wounded animal. It made him feel like he needed to pull him close, stroke his hair, and tell him that he needn’t worry, but he knew it would only result in him getting his face scratched. There seemed to be something on the tip of Scott’s tongue as he contemplated John’s question, but he didn’t say it. Eventually, he just shook his head as he turned towards John again.

“Believe me, you just don’t, “he said as he stared at a point somewhere behind John’s face.

John huffed, shaking his head. “You’re gonna have to do better than that.”

“I said…”

“I heard what you said, “John interrupted and Scott’s eyes widened. “But there hasn’t been an explanation, and in this case, I am unwilling to accept it.”

“You just have to deal with it then.”

“How can you say I don’t want to get involved? You can’t know that, you don’t know me.”

Scott actually laughed at this and John quirked an eyebrow curiously, silently demanding an explanation. 

“Oh, I know enough.”

“How?” John asked, now feeling irritated himself. “We haven’t met before, have we? I haven’t told you anything as far as I know..” He wondered if one of his friends had blabbered about him to Scott. But he dismissed that idea quickly. They would have told him about meeting someone uncommon like Scott and the way Scott reacted to people didn’t suggest him talking to John’s friends as a likely possibility. 

Scott’s eyes twinkled dangerously and his lips curled up into a devilish grin as he took one step forward. “Oh, we don’t know each other, but I still know a lot about you. I know you’re a rugby player, playing in the University team, possibly as a captain, but you suffered a recent shoulder injury which is why you’re considering taking it a little lighter than usual this term. You’re a textbook Alpha. You’re also very ambitious and want to do good in your studies, you want to become a good doctor and earn good money to prove yourself to the world. You’ve been drinking yesterday, not only just beer, and you’re regretting it. Not only because it affects your ability to concentrate, that is be a good, attentive student during your classes today, but because you had an alcoholic father and you don’t want to become like him. Your finances are rather lacking. You’ve been in training for the army, but left it as soon as your father died to study here.”

He stopped abruptly, tilting his head as if stretching his neck.

“That’s enough to be going on with, don’t you think?” He smiled in triumph and John stared at him wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

“How...how did you do that?” he asked, unable to decide if he should feel offended on top of being deeply impressed.

“I observed. Simple as that.”

“It’s not possible. Nobody can deduce anything like that just by looking at another person.”

“Alright. If I explain to you how I came to make those deductions, will you let me go?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. First, you’re very muscular, especially in your arms and shoulders. You’re an Alpha too and a popular one judging from the many looks you were getting from females and males alike when you entered the lecture hall. Deduction: you’re a rugby player, possibly a captain. It’s still the most popular sport here as in most British universities. The way you hold yourself implies a recent injury to your shoulder, which again suggests you’re involved in some kind of sport that heavily relies on your shoulder.” 

He fixed John with a pointed stare, pushing his hands casually into the pockets of his black trousers.

“You’re hangover, which is very obvious from the dark shadows under your eyes, the way you lick your lips at least once every two minutes, suggesting a dry mouth, in turn suggesting slight dehydration, and then there’s your general paleness, not matching the rest of your skin tone. Additionally, yesterday’s been the evening before the first classes of this semester, many students take this opportunity to intoxicate themselves. You regret it though because you want to be a good student. How do I know? You’re in Magnussen’s class and you want to stay in his class, it was very obvious. When he began questioning and dismissing the students you got very angry which implies a strong sense of justice. You didn’t elect to leave his class, you want to prove yourself to him. The way you looked at him when he asked you a question demonstrated an unusual above-average level of hostility. Which means you’ve got courage. It also means that you’re reckless, allowing Magnussen to see your antipathy, possibly making yourself a future target to that disgusting vulture. You’re impressed by me embarrassing him in front of the class, which implies vindictiveness, again, a typical Alpha male thing.”

His eyes darted down to John’s throat.

“You’re wearing a very small but distinguished silver necklace under your shirt. I can see it’s circle-shaped. The unusual shape suggests it’s old, probably a family heirloom which has been given to you by a female. Could be a girlfriend but no, you’re wearing it now and you’re asking me out, which means you have no girlfriend. You wouldn’t be wearing anything by her or you’d be a cheat which doesn’t apply because….strong sense of justice. So. It has been given to you by your mother. There’s probably a tiny picture of yourself as a baby in it or of you and her. However it is, you’re sentimental. Why are you sentimental? Because things are not as good as they were. You’re poor. You’re wearing expensive clothes but they’ve been bought second-hand, which is obvious from the worn fringes of your shirt and the holes in the knee area - no they aren’t artificial, these are actually well-worn jeans.” 

He made a vague gesture towards John’s knees, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows as if to say _Really?_

“Also, you don’t travel, at least not far. You have no tan lines, which means that you didn’t travel during summer vacation, most students do so - if they can afford it, that is. No, you stayed in England. At your mother’s house. But things haven’t been good. Why? There are many possible explanations for this, but I’m going with an abusive father, probably an alcoholic, who beat her on a regular basis, although I admit it’s a shot in the dark. You stepped in one time, probably when you were a teenager, which is how you got the scar above your left eyebrow, that’s where the belt hit you. You detested your father but you still went to the army because he wanted it. It’s manly to go to the army, it’s a typical Alpha’s choice, and no other members of your family before went to university. You probably thought it was the best way to get stronger, to get your mother and possibly a younger sibling out of there. You were a good fit militarywise, I can see from your posture that you have the mindset of a soldier, you still have in some ways. But you quit your training early after a while, why? Because your father died. Which is also one of the reasons why you’re poor. He probably didn’t work a lot when he was alive but still, a few temp jobs here and there do pay the bills, even if only a few. So that’s why you’re here now, studying medicine. Piling on a lot of additional debts, hoping to make it all up to your family after you’ve become a successful GP. Or pediatrician, I haven’t decided that yet....” 

He stopped speaking and tipped his head back, considering something. “Yes, I think that was all.” His eyes snapped back to John again. “Did I get anything wrong?”

Having been completely drawn in by Scott’s lengthy and incredible account of what was most of his life in that deep, gravelly voice of his - mesmerizing him, pulling him in, as if he were a creature of the deep sea - he was startled at the sudden silence, unprepared to be addressed out of the blue. He could see the impatience in Scott’s eyes as he waited for his reaction. There was apprehension in his pale features, something that John certainly did not understand.

“That….” he started, turning his head to the side in disbelieving astonishment…..” was amazing.”

Once again, Scott looked completely bewildered. “Do you really think so”? he asked, stumbling over his sentence.

“Of course I do,” John answered quickly, “it was extraordinary, it was quite….extraordinary.”

Scott blushed, shaking his head as he turned away a bit. “That’s not what people normally say.”

“What do people normally say?” John asked curiously.

“Piss off,” Scott said drily.

John couldn’t help but smirk at that, and his heart clenched when Scott’s lips curled up in slight amusement as well. It made him feel as if they had shared a private joke, something intimate that only the two of them could understand. He decided in that instant that he _loved_ to see Scott smile like that. 

But then he realized that Scott must have had many bad experiences with people, probably because of his deduction skills offending them - people didn’t like their weaknesses to be exposed and in some ways, John could relate to that. He was only sorry that being mind-blowingly intelligent only seemed to give that poor kid trouble. He obviously had a brilliant mind, he just lacked some social skills to smooth his way over with people.

“So I was right, “he said, raising his chin to meet Scott’s impatient gaze again.

“About what?”

“About you being very clever.”

Scott smiled weakly. “Obviously. Now I believe you promised to let me leave me in peace now.”

“I did but…”

“Goodbye then….” Scott was already turning away, stopping mid-movement with a puzzled frown on his face. “I don’t know your name.”

“It’s John Watson, “John said as he held out his hand and smiled cheekily. Scott stared at his hand with a frown, then, rolling his eyes, he took it. His hand was thin and bony and his fingers were actually longer than John’s but it still felt very nice holding it and John found himself unable to let go. Scott tried to take his hand away again, but John gripped tighter and, going out on a limb, deftly pulled him close into his own personal space. Scott’s eyes widened, his pupils dilating, and the mellow scent of apples and almonds flared up at the unexpected intimacy. 

John’s own breathing suddenly quickened as Alpha and Beta stared at one another, their faces only inches away from each other. Desire flashed hot and demanding in the pit of John’s stomach as he couldn’t help but focus on those perfectly-shaped lips, slightly moist, irresistibly alluring, and he wanted to kiss them, claim them, to mark them as his.

He forced his eyes to move up from Scott’s mouth to his pale blue eyes, flashing darkly. Scott’s hand felt cold and stiff in his tight grip.

“Give me a chance, “John said quietly but firmly, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, “I know now you’re even cleverer than I thought. It only makes me want to get to know you more. You seem to know all about me, but I know almost nothing about you. Come on. What do you say?”

But the pale grey eyes hardened.

“I say piss off!” Scott cried out as he tore his hand free from John, the anger from before returning at full power. “What is it with you Alpha blockheads and your stupid Alpha ways? Can’t you accept a simple no? God!” 

He took a few steps backwards away from John. “Who do you think I am? A weak-minded imbecile, going all giddy and pliant when you push out your superior Alpha pheromones on me, making me bat my eyes at you, perhaps even spread my legs for you? I’m not some mindless Omega begging for your knot, for God’s sake. Sorry to disappoint you!”

With one last furious look at John, he pulled his abandoned bag over his shoulder and stomped off. John could see him throwing a quick look over his shoulder to see if John was following him again, but he stayed put this time, knowing it would be unwise to upset the poor bloke even more.

“I’m sorry!” he shouted after him, raising his arm in helpless frustration. But Scott didn’t turn back again, increasing the distance between them as quickly as he could without actually running.

As he watched Scott disappear into the dormitory marked ‘House Gilbert’, an angry curse slipped past his lips. His stomach churned, a knot twisting there with sudden anger - anger at himself for his unbelievable stupidity. In his frustration, he kicked a stone heatedly into the wall of the building next to him, a grunt-like noise of frustration leaving his throat, causing passing students to glance at him warily.

It had all went so well. Although Scott had not been interested in having a conversation with him, John had managed to lure Scott out of his shell. When he had explained how he had reached his deductions at John’s request, his whole body had been alight with excitement, his eyes shining as he rapidly presented one clever conclusion after the other. He hadn’t been distrustful or cautious then. Instead, he had turned into someone else. Someone who was not only exceptional because he was beautiful on the outside, as well as incredibly smart and observant. At that moment he had been so exceptionally …. uninhibited. Almost as if John hadn’t been there. He had been exceptionally _alive_. An absolute marvel.

And then John had ruined it all by allowing his stupid _stupid_ inner Alpha to take over him.

_Christ, you bloody idiot._

He turned and walked back towards where he had come from, hanging his head in sullen disappointment.

What had he been thinking? He wasn’t usually like this, he was no stupid Alpha macho. He usually respected people’s boundaries and he really didn’t know what had come over him to behave towards Scott like that. 

No wonder he had pissed him off, probably ruining his chances of a romantic date or even just another friendly conversation forever.

He sighed when he saw the concerned face of Mike greeting him in front of the Medical building.

“Hey, “Mike said as he approached him. “I saw you talking to that kid Scott Williams from our class, but then I saw you were arguing and waited here for you. What happened?”

“Oh, don’t make me explain it, “John groaned, half-burying his face in his palms. “I behaved like an animal, that’s what I did.”

“Hm, sorry, but that sounds like a story you need to tell me in detail, “Mike said slowly, “why don’t you do that over lunch then? I think you still owe me one, remember?” He smirked at John, and he knew he was trying to cheer him up.

“Alright, let’s go, “John said with a heavy sigh.

“Come on.“ Mike patted his shoulder twice in sympathy. “You know I’m a great listener. We’ll get some good food into you and then you can tell me all about your conversation with that pale Angelface, alright? I heard they have lemon meringue pie for dessert!”

“Right.”

John smiled weakly and allowed Mike to wrap his arm around his shoulder and drag him towards the cafeteria. But not even the thought of pie could make him feel better about the dreadful conversation he just had and the image of Scott Williams’ lovely face, the expression on it turning bitter and angry because of John’s words, stayed with him on the way to lunch. 

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I hope that was readable. I've never written such a dialogue-heavy chapter before...Please let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, I'm afraid the next chapter could take a little while longer as I have a couple of important exams coming up next week and the week after that as well :(


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: light swearing as well as (mild, verbal) sexual harassment

Mike indeed was a good listener, just like he promised. Neither did he roll his eyes nor did he glance at his watch. Instead, he just listened to John’s very detailed recount of his hapless encounter with beautiful Scott Williams while eating his chicken salad silently. When John was done, staring miserably into his own untouched bowl of food, he pushed the fork into his hand and commanded him to eat. Then he had told him straight out that yes, it sounded as if John had been a little out of line. But that didn’t mean that his chances of getting to know this mysterious young Beta student were completely lost.

“Just tell him you’re sorry next time you see him, “he said with a fond smile and a nudge against his arm as he pushed his empty bowl away and started digging into his lemon meringue pie with gusto. “It’ll be a whole week until you see him again. He’ll have forgotten all about it, and then you can start anew. Seriously, John, with your irresistible charms, I’m sure you’ll manage to persuade him to give you another chance.” He winked at John playfully.

“I can only hope you’re right, “John muttered as he half-heartedly pushed his slice of pie to the other side of the plate. 

But truthfully, he didn’t think that it would be that simple. Scott didn’t seem like a person who would forget as easily as Mike thought. It was obvious to John that the young Beta student wasn’t like other people. Amongst other things, he was clearly extremely intelligent and very attentive, and surely that would include remembering every detail of the dreadful conversation with an obnoxious arrogant Alpha who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.

The whole day dragged by as John’s thoughts kept returning to his encounter with Scott. Normally, he loved the first few days of a new semester. Most professors and lecturers kept the first courses’ schedules light, giving the students a chance to get to know each other, introducing their subjects, and elaborating on upcoming tests and requirements to be met. It usually inspired John to catch up with friends or acquaintances he’d already met in other courses by chance or take the opportunity to meet new people. On that first Monday, he hardly talked to anyone, forcing himself to smile and make small talk with a few other students. It was a shame really, but he just wasn’t in the right mood. 

There were the obligatory start-of-semester parties planned, a few of which John usually attended with his friends because he would never turn down the opportunity to indulge in some good old-fashioned dancing and drinking with his chums, no matter how diligent a student he aimed to be. 

But at the end of that first day, John found himself returning to his room with a churning stomach, and he lay down on his bed, a feeling of gloom and disappointment descending down on him. The unusual feeling of discontent at the very first day of Uni left him in a state of nervous uneasiness and he pulled his wireless headphones over his ears, trying to drown out his thoughts in random Punk music and succeeding to do so half-way. 

When Mike came to collect him for a couple of beers with a few blokes from the room next door, he agreed only because he knew there would be a lot of questions if he didn’t. He laughed along when his friends made fun of some of their new professors while he nursed his bottle of beer but he wasn’t really into it and said his goodbyes earlier than usual, claiming he had a headache.

The next few days went a little better. He told himself to pull himself together and pay attention if he wanted to get a good start on this semester’s courses and so he did. He diligently took notes of what he had to do in order to pass the courses. He signed up for a few presentations and essays and he even agreed to take part in a study group for one of the more difficult anatomy courses he had to pass this semester. 

He still couldn’t help searching the room every time he went to a new course, trying to find a certain Beta student with pale blue eyes and dark unruly curls, but to his great disappointment, he didn’t encounter him again. Magnussen’s class seemed to be the only course the two of them attended together, which made sense because Scott wasn’t even studying medicine. Still, John had foolishly clung to the hope that they would share more than one class together, and when his last course on Friday afternoon was over he found himself clenching his jaw in disappointment on his way back to his dorm, his mood once again taking a turn for the worse after he had managed to put the snappish Beta out of his mind for a while.

Attending the first practice of Durham’s rugby team late Friday afternoon helped a lot. As soon as he started warming up with the other blokes, running a few laps, stretching his limbs, he felt the anticipation he always felt when he was on the field. When he tackled a teammate for the first time, both of them falling to the ground in laughter, the familiar feeling of the surge of adrenaline kicking in, he felt free and young and he forgot about everything else. He trained hard, pushing himself to his limit, and almost didn’t feel his shoulder afterwards. When his teammates decided to go into town for a few drinks he didn’t hesitate and went with them. 

_To hell with Scott Williams_ , he thought, as he caught a cute girl’s eye in the pub they had chosen. _Who needs him? I can have anyone I like._

He winked and the girl giggled as she stood up and came over to their table, along with a couple of friends. John quickly downed his glass of beer and started to flirt heavily. When the Beta girl sat on his lap and pulled him in for a snog, he let her, enjoying the feeling of her wet tongue in his mouth, her hand around his neck pulling him closer. Her name was Tonya, and he grinned triumphantly as she added her contact info to his phone, ignoring his teammates winking and leering at them from all sides.

But to his dismay, he didn’t think of Tonya and her wet kisses as he went to bed that night. It was Scott Williams’ cupid-bow lips instead that filled his mind: the way they had tightened in surprise when John had addressed him, the way they had moved rapidly as he shot out his deductions of John's life at him, or how they had curled up in almost shy joy when John had called him ‘fantastic’ right after. He imagined the way they would feel underneath his own lips, imagined they must feel incredibly soft and sweet and that he would love to know how Scott would react if he pushed him against the wall while he roamed his mouth with his tongue. He imagined the alluring scent of almonds and apples spiking up at this display of dominance and he groaned as he tried to think of something else, something that would make the starting erection between his legs go away.

He remembered the way Scott’s eyes had widened first in surprise, then in anger when John had pulled him close, and it stung to think of the rejection, although he completely understood Scott’s reaction. It had really been more than a little presumptuous of him to do that, and he still didn’t know why he had done it. He usually was so in control of himself, but with Scott, it was like he was losing that control. As if Scott triggered some sort of instinct in him that made his inner Alpha take over and forget the general etiquette when it came to courting.

It angered him. Here he was, thinking of himself as a man respectful of every gender, a gentleman, always charming and polite, and yet somehow, he had made a fool of himself in front of Scott. A feeling of bitterness rose up within him and he knew that if anyone were with him now they would be able to smell it. He was disappointed with himself and he hated that feeling.

_Bloody hell. What’s up with this bloke, why do I keep thinking of him? I’ve seen him one time, for Christ’s sake. This is getting ridiculous._

He turned off the lights and swore to himself that he would not think of Scott again for the whole weekend.

During Saturday he managed just fine, doing a little bit of homework, watching an action movie with Mike, catching up with a few other friends on campus. He had a dreadfully awkward conversation on the phone with his mom and Harry and a much nicer catch-up phone call from Mary. She had a great time in London, telling him of all her friends and the cute blokes she had already met although there were none she liked specifically. When she asked if there were any cute girls he had met he said no and refused to talk more about the topic.

He spent Sunday afternoon trying to prepare for Magnussen’s class, knowing they would be tested as Magnussen had promised. He needed to be prepared, but instead of focussing on his textbook, he found himself thinking of Scott again and how he could apologize to him. After a whole two hours of fussing over the right words, he pounced on Mike, begging him to ask him some mock questions for the class, so that he would stop going crazy over the whole Scott issue. Mike drilled him strictly, making it impossible to think about anything else, and when John went to bed that night, he knew that he was well prepared, feeling immensely thankful for his best friend’s help. 

He woke early Monday morning, earlier than was necessary, and found himself unable to eat anything for breakfast. He could feel the way Mike kept glancing at him on their way to Magnussen’s class, and he knew that his friend was aware of what he was nervous about, but he didn’t want to talk about it, just get it over with. He had decided that he would try his best to apologize to Scott, that he would try to explain to him that he had indeed behaved like an animal, but that he wasn’t normally like that and that he promised never to do such a thing again. He could only hope that Scott would accept the apology. If not, then screw him. No person would bring John to beg for a friendship, not even a beautiful, exceptional human being like Scott Williams. 

John told himself that it would be no big deal to him if Scott rejected him today. But still, he felt nauseous as they entered the lecture hall and when his eyes almost immediately found the pale young student in the first row, a surge of adrenaline shot through his body, making his heart pound in his chest like mad. He swallowed and looked to the ground, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Then he began walking down the stairs, trying not to trip over his feet in his nervousness.

“What are you doing?” asked Mike behind him, as John kept going downwards, past the middle rows.

“I’m going to sit in the front, “John muttered, as he stopped suddenly, wiping his sweaty hands on the front of his jeans.

Mike curiously followed John’s gaze. “Ah, I see, “he said with a small chuckle when he realized who John was looking at.

“You don’t need to come with.”

“Ah, that’s okay. Maybe we’ll make a good impression on Magnussen if we sit in the front, right?”

Mike smiled at him and John clasped his shoulder thankfully before turning and stepping into the second row, his Beta friend right behind him. They took two seats in the middle of the row, John taking the seat right behind Scott. The young Beta’s eyes were focussed on his notes onto which he was scribbling something and John had no idea if he had seen him walking in or coming so close. A quick glance at the large clock on the wall told him that he had about ten minutes left until the start of the class, so he needed to get the conversation started now.

He had thought about approaching Scott before class, trying to catch him before he entered the lecture hall, but had abandoned that idea quickly. He didn’t want Scott to feel cornered or ambushed and thought the Beta would feel better if John spoke to him in the safety of the lecture hall, surrounded by other students, where John would not dare touch him again. Not that John would do so again, but Scott didn’t know that.

The pounding of his heart against his ribcage was only getting worse, so John bit his tongue, trying not to think about the way Scott’s hair fascinated him, the colour ranging from warm chestnut to a deeper tone of dark chocolate; the way the curls fell, unruly and still so elegant, all in all looking soft and rich and perfect and John wanted to reach out and run his fingers through it, bury his nose in it to catch the scent of his shampoo. But all did was lean forward and say...

“Hey.”

Scott abruptly stopped scribbling on his notebook and John could see his whole body tensing up. His thin elegant hand holding a fountain pen hovered over the paper for a whole second, then he huffed and continued writing.

“Hey Scott, “John said a little louder, leaning forward a little more.

“No, “Scott said and the sound of his deep baritone made something curl inside John - until he realized what he had just said.

“What do you mean, no?” he asked incredulously.

“No, I don’t accept your apology, “Scott said bluntly, without looking up from his notes, continuing to scribble something, the words adding up so quickly, they became a blur to John above from where he was hovering over Scott.

“You don’t know what I was going to say!” he protested, staring at the back of Scott’s head.

“Yes, I do. You wanted to say you’re sorry for what you did last time we talked, treating me like that. You were going to promise you would never do something ‘Alpha’ like that again, that you’d normally never behave like that, that you don’t know what got into you. That you hoped I gave you another chance.”

John was speechless. He felt Mike’s pitiful gaze on him and he turned to his friend, his eyebrows raised, holding out his palms in a helpless gesture for support. But Mike simply mirrored his pose, shrugging his shoulders as if to say _Give it up, mate, you have no chance_.

John, however, refused to give up that quickly. 

“You do not know that!” he hissed as he glared at Scott’s head.

Scott stopped writing and sighed loudly before he turned. “Am I wrong?” he asked, fixing John with a haughty scowl.

Looking into those cold blue-green eyes again rendered John unable to speak again for a few seconds, but then his gaze hardened and his mouth was pressed into a thin line as he curtly shook his head.

“No. I was going to say something like that, yes.”

“And I already said no, “Scott said coldly, “so just let’s skip this pointless discussion, shall we? I’m already bored.”

“But you can’t…”

Before John could finish his sentence Scott had already turned and started writing again. 

Anger pooled deep in his stomach. He saw Mike next to him shaking his head in warning, whispering “no John, don’t, “but he couldn’t stop himself. 

_Who does this kid think he is?_

“What’s wrong with you?” he hissed, leaning forward again. “I’m trying to apologize to you, the decent thing would be at least to listen to me.”

Scott whipped around, wide-eyed. “Excuse me?” he asked incredulously.

“You heard what I said, “John said heatedly. “I know I was out of line with you, I know that I went too far. I knew it the second it was over, and I regretted it immediately. I felt really bad afterwards, and I wanted to apologize to you all week. So don’t brush me off like that, it’s not fair.”

Scott’s eyes darkened, suddenly ablaze with rapidly increasing fury. “Not fair? That’s rich coming from you. You arrogant Alphas thinking you’re so much better than everyone else, taking and touching other people as you seem fit no regardless of whether they want it or not, that is not fair!”

John’s cheeks suddenly felt hot. “I know that it must look like that to you, “he replied quickly, “But I’m not like that! I know what I did was wrong. People make mistakes, alright? But one mistake doesn’t automatically make them bad people.”

“A first impression tells a lot about a person, “Scott said, his mouth hard. “Excuse me if I don’t possess the patience or the naiveté to check if ‘people’ really turn out to be anything else than the stupid idiots they’ve proven themselves to be the first time.”

“You’re a very shallow person then. You judge people too quickly.”

Scott snorted at that. “Oh, that’s rich. You’re the one who made a mistake but now you’re accusing me of being the arsehole. Really, that’s a first for me.”

John went pale when he realized how what he said had sounded. “No, I...Sorry, I didn’t…”

“Stop it, “Scott interrupted him harshly. “Please, just stop it.”

A door was slammed shut on the other side of the room and they both looked up to see Professor Magnussen approaching the desk at the center rapidly, causing everyone in the room to quiet down at once. 

“Scott, “John whispered urgently, but the young Beta only looked at him in disdain, shaking his head then turning back to his notes.

Magnussen started talking so John had no choice but to keep quiet. The feeling of nausea from before returned with a vengeance. It was even worse now, and he pressed the back of his right hand to his mouth, as he tried to process what just had happened. His mind was already rapidly going over every word that had been exchanged between them, trying to pinpoint where or when it had gone wrong and it was only when he was gently nudged in the side by a regretful-looking Mike that he realized he had not been paying attention to the lecture at all and that Magnussen had already started asking students questions from the textbook. He tried to push Scott out of his thoughts which proved difficult when the bloke was sitting right in front of him with his stupid gorgeous hair and his beautiful long neck so he forced his gaze away, following Magnussen’s movements through the room.

The more he listened to the lecture, the more he managed to focus on today’s topic and when Magnussen eventually turned towards them, asking first Mike, then John a quick question on the most distinguishable characteristics of strychnine and thallium, both of them could answer him without difficulty, earning them a cold smile from their professor before he continued questioning students.

Every student singled out by Magnussen managed to answer his questions correctly. Which was no surprise, regarding the fact that almost half the class participants had not shown up again today after the professor’s off-putting performance last week. All the remaining students were either forced to stay because they had no alternatives or they were as determined and ambitious as John and Mike were. John suspected that all of the students present had spent their Sunday studying for this class in order to pass this rigorous questioning. He hoped that the professor would not make a habit of doing that every week. He had other classes too, and couldn’t afford to spend all his precious time studying just for ‘Advanced Toxicology’.

“Today, we’re going to talk about the various effects of certain toxicants and poisons,” Magnussen said, as he started his PowerPoint. “We’ll take a look at the most common toxicants, but also the lesser-known ones. It’s important that you know all of these I’m going to show you now. Almost all of these are lethal to the human body or at least affect it in a way that it will stay crippled or immobile for the rest of its existence. Let’s start.”

John grabbed his pen and concentrated on the lecture, refusing to look at the boy in front of him, although being painfully aware of his presence. The anger boiling in his stomach had receded to something more akin to resentment, but it was still there, gnawing away at his insides. More frustratingly, it was mixed with a lingering dose of doubt. He wondered if Scott had been right to accuse him of being a typical arrogant Alpha. If John’s misstep last week could really have been enough to make Scott believe that he was a bad person.

But no. Scott was right to be angry at him, but he had no right to refuse to listen to his apology. John would have understood if Scott had patiently listened to his apology and then refused to accept it. Or if he had accepted it and still chosen not to give John another chance. It would have been painful and it would have been embarrassing but John would have accepted that.

But to be blatantly refused like that? Almost spit in the face as Scott had just done now? That was almost insulting. John’s deed had not been that bad that it warranted impertinent behaviour like this. It was childish, to the point of being radically disrespectful, and John refused to accept this. 

On the other hand, what could he do? He couldn’t force Scott to listen to his apology and it made him sad that the Beta apparently had no faith in humankind that he would react like that. He wanted to prove to him that he was different. That he was not like those Alphas he had met before, arrogant and self-entitled.

It seemed he would not be given that chance.

Disappointment settled deep within him, replacing the anger and he sighed in resignation as he dared a look at Scott in front of him after all. The pale student was completely focused on Magnussen and his presentation and if he was aware of John’s look at him he did not let it show on his face. He furrowed his eyebrows as he frowned at something Magnussen was saying and his rosy lips were slightly parted as he repeatedly tapped a pencil against his jaw. He looked downright edible and John swallowed as he averted his eyes.

It would have been nice to get to know him. Not only because the bloke was incredibly hot, but also because he was like no other person John had ever met before. The way he had deduced the most important facts about John’s life, the way nothing seemed to escape his sharp eyes - it was extremely fascinating and John wanted to know more about him. Had he always been that way? How had he been brought up? Why was he so bitter and angry all the time? Why wasn’t he interested in dating?

But apparently, he would never get any answers to these questions. It seemed Mike had been wrong about this: there would be no second chance for him with Scott Williams.

“Alright, students, listen up, “Magnussen called out, pulling John out of his thoughts. “For the last section of today’s class, we’re going to take a look at the effects of certain toxicants on the anatomy of Omegas. It varies widely from the way it affects Alphas and Betas so we’ll concentrate on the differences between these effects and the reasons for the different effects.”

Someone behind him snickered quietly and John glanced behind his shoulder to see the Alphas he had seen last time, the ones with the porn magazines, sitting a few rows behind him, elbowing each other with lewd grins on their faces.

 _Here we go again_ , John thought, irritated. _What is it wíth these two and Omegas?_

“Let’s summarize, class: what are the main differences in Alpha, Beta, and Omega anatomy? Just give me a few keywords.”

A few students raised their hands, confident in their answers because this belonged to the things all of them had learned in their very first semester. It was basic knowledge for medicine students, they would need to apply it daily the moment they became doctors.

Magnussen hummed and nodded, elaborating here and there, talking with obvious excitement on his face and in his voice. He seemed to be deeply invested in the topic and his face lit up every time a student named another difference. 

“Great!” he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. “I’m glad to see you all seem to possess a solid knowledge in this area. Let’s apply this knowledge about Omega physiology to the knowledge we have about toxicants and the effects they can have on the human body. I have here a few photos for you to give you a first impression. I’d warn you that this is not for the weak-minded but all of you aim to be doctors or at least something in that area, so I expect you to have no problems looking at these.” 

Three pictures appeared on the wall and a collective gasp went through the lecture hall. John studied the pictures with fascination, his mind already rapidly sorting out the differences between the images depicted.

“As you can see, “Magnussen said as he made a circle around all three images with his laser pointer, “what you can see here are three human larynxes. All three of these have been exposed to hydrochloric acid. Would anyone care to point out the difference between these three images? Yes, Mr. Trevor?”

“All of the larynxes show signs of severe corrosive injury, “came the deep calm voice of a student behind John. He turned half-way to see it belonged to one of the Alphas he had noticed before, the one with the blond wavy hair.

“The burns caused by the hydrochloric acid are evident in all of these images, but it’s obvious that the larynx on the left-hand side has only been affected in a superficial manner. The red marks on the thyrohyoid membrane are clearly less severe than the ones in the other two pictures. In regards to the picture on the right, I’d say that we can infer from the scar tissue on the cricoid cartilage leading up to an almost completely destroyed trachea that the owner of said larynx will never be able to speak again, not to mention never be able to breathe on their own.”

“Very good, Mr. Trevor!” Magnussen smiled at the Alpha student with obvious approval.

“You’re right, of course. The person with the larynx on the right side had to be hospitalized after drinking the hydrochloric acid in an apparent attempt to kill themselves. They didn’t succeed in doing so but the injuries to the throat and respiratory tracts as well to the inner organs were so severe that they had to be put into a medically induced coma, or they would have died. The owner of the larynx on the left side recovered completely with the help of medical care. The owner with the larynx in the middle suffered some remaining damage and has to use an inhaler from time to time, but other than that his wounds have healed just fine. I think all of you have realized by now that the first larynx belongs to an Alpha, the middle one to a Beta, and the right one to an Omega.”

John blinked in surprise when Scott’s hand suddenly shot up. Magnussen fixed the young student with mild surprise.

“Yes?”

“I only wanted to ask, “Scott said, his voice deep and clear, “what happened to the Omega after they were woken up from the medically induced coma?”

Magnussen’s lips curled up slightly. “She didn’t wake up, as far as I know. Her wounds would never have healed completely and she would have probably stayed bed-ridden for the rest of her life, never be able to breathe on her own. Her mate decided to put her out of her misery.”

“What?!” Scott’s voice rose with anger. “But even if she were never able to breathe on her own again, she is still a human being. She would have been able to live a life, even if it would never have been the same.”

“Mr. Williams, was it?” Magnussen asked with a strained smile. He looked as if he tried to appear sympathetic as if he was talking to a child that didn’t understand what the adults were talking about, although his face still remained cold and distanced.

“It’s an Alpha’s right to decide about whether life-sustaining measures should be taken with regards to their mate or not. His decision was well within the bounds of legality and to be honest, it’s a decision that’s made quite often. It’s standard procedure. There’s no reason to be upset.”

“It shouldn’t be legal!” Scott spit out angrily. “It’s inhumane that someone can just decide to murder another person just because they’re an Omega!”

“Mr. Williams! This is a class on toxicology, not on ethics. Please refrain from starting unnecessary discussions about this. It only takes away time that we don’t have. And by the way, the Alpha didn’t ‘murder’ anyone. I’d also like to point out to you that the Omega in question drank the hydrochloric acid herself in order to kill herself. So she got her wish in the end, didn’t she? Her mate only made it possible for her, you could even say he did it out of kindness.”

Scott was stunned. “But….” he started weakly.

“I said DON’T start an unnecessary discussion.”

Magnussen’s sharp tone and his pointed glare were enough to shut Scott up and John felt a surge of sympathy for the younger Beta. Moreover, he completely agreed with him. Like him, he couldn’t understand why the Alpha of the injured Omega had the right to stop life-sustaining measures to be taken if his mate could have continued living after her coma. Yes, she would have been bed-ridden and disabled - maybe she would have tried to kill herself a second time as a result. 

But in John’s opinion, it should not have been the Alpha’s decision to make and he was deeply distraught that the legal system allowed something like this. He hadn’t known this and he thought it was highly questionable. In his opinion, the field of medicine was naturally tied together with the field of ethics. Hell, every decision they were going to make as doctors were based on ethics, so why had Magnussen brushed Scott’s question off like that? Why had he sounded so satisfied when he mentioned that the Omega had even gotten her wish in the end?

It was disconcerting, to say the least.

“This is only one example of many, “Magnussen was saying with a lazy smile curling around his thin lips, pulling John out of his thoughts once again. “I could show you many more examples but I think you all have gotten the point that Alphas and Betas have a much higher tolerance to toxicants and poisons, Omega bodies being much weaker and thus much more prone to illness or even death, as they simply cannot withstand the toxicants attacking their system.”

Once again, Scott’s hand flew up in the air and John tensed in his seat.

Magnussen looked at the Beta again, this time looking more annoyed than surprised. “Yes, Mr. Williams, you have another question?”

John couldn’t see Scott’s face from his current angle but he could hear the suppressed anger in his voice. A smell of burned apples and almonds reached his nose and his own heart beat faster at the scent of another person in distress. 

_Don’t do it_ , he thought, as he looked on helplessly, _don’t provoke him_.

“I just wanted to point out, “the familiar baritone said pointedly, “that even though Omegas may seem to have a lower tolerance towards toxicants in general, there are certain specific toxicants they are more immune to, ones which Alphas in specific are weaker too. Alpha physiology is especially weak to carbon tetrachloride, methyl acrylate, and even mercury, for instance. Those are substances to which an Omega’s physiology is much more resilient, due to the additional alarm pheromones only existent in Omegas. So I think it’s a little too easy to say that Omegas are inferior in regards to their anatomy when these facts do exist and need to be taken into consideration as well.”

Magnussen’s smile could almost be called creepy as his lips twitched and his hand went to his face, stroking over his salt-and-pepper beard as if to cover his smile behind his hand. 

“Ah, “he said, his tone suddenly soft with delight, “we have an Omega supporter amongst our midst. How sweet.”

Scott huffed and shook his head. “I’m just pointing out facts.”

Magnussen slowly approached the first row, holding his hands behind his back. He looked positively elated, like a predator ready for his meal, coming for his tasty, oblivious prey.

“These are not facts. Mr. Williams. There have been only theories about those toxicants you mentioned, nothing more.”

“That’s not true. The Swedish scientist Professor Hilger Arendsen was able to prove that carbon tetrachloride lowers the general ability of Alpha males and females to withstand the toxicants, rendering them susceptible to injury to the liver or the kidneys, to the point where their central nervous system completely breaks down. They could die from prolonged exposure. The Omega test objects, however, were barely affected. Their organs hardly showed any evident symptoms.”

“That’s just one of the toxicants you were talking about, Mr. Williams, “Magnussen said with a condescending smirk. “The other two are still in the testing stage, he’s proven nothing about those two yet. I also doubt that the theory regarding the first toxicant is true.”

“Of course it’s true, “Scott said, his anger audibly rising. “Professor Arendsen is a renowned toxicologist in his field.”

“Arendsen is a fraud and a pathetic Omega activist, “Magnussen retorted coldly.

“What?!” Scott shot up out of his chair. “How can you say that, “he asked heatedly, his voice trembling with fury. “He won the Edison Award last year for all his achievements in Omega studies! It’s obvious he’s on to something with his theories. You cannot deny the fact that…”

“DON’T raise your voice to me, Mr. Williams, “Magnussen bellowed and Scott winced, “or I’ll have you thrown out of this class!”

The tension in the classroom was palpable. John, like everyone else, watched with bated breath as Magnussen stepped forward to Scott’s desk, forcing the standing student to raise his head in order to meet the taller man’s hard gaze.

“I’m not denying anything, “Magnussen growled, his voice low in warning. “I’m just pointing out that there have been no theories by other scientists to support those ridiculous theories of Arendsen. And you know as well as I do that a theory, especially a bold theory like that needs to be supported by more than just one scientist. So excuse me, for not believing in its accuracy just yet.” 

He leaned back a little, a smile creeping up his thin lips. “By the way, did you know that Arendsen is mated to an Omega? I’d say that says a lot about his integrity as well as his objectivity.”

Scott scoffed. “It only explains his dedication to the project. It doesn’t affect his scientific abilities.”

Magnussen’s lips tightened again. “In my opinion it does, Mr. Williams. Who knows what kind of influence his Omega has on him?”

John and Mike stared at each other in disbelief. The professor’s arguments bordered on being ludicrous. How could a renowned professor of a highly established university like Durham talk such nonsense? It was highly unprofessional, to say the least.

“But….” Scott seemed at a loss at what to say and John couldn’t blame him.

“Sit down, Mr. Williams. I’m closing the discussion on this matter.”

“But….”

“I said sit down!” Magnussen thundered and Scott flinched visibly. Magnussen’s cold blue eyes pierced into the young student who stared back at him and John could see his thin shoulders heaving, could hear the rapid, shallow breaths coming from his mouth. The scent of burned apples was even stronger now and he could not deny that it affected him.

His whole body was tense, rigid with the wish to protect the one being threatened, and make the tainted scent of distress disappear. He was nervous that Scott would keep on protesting and be thrown out of class, but then, almost miraculously, Scott sat down and John exhaled in relief.

His hands curled into fists, however, as he watched Magussen stare down at Scott, a victorious smirk on his face and he suddenly wanted to punch the man. Alphas like him were exactly the ones that Scott had meant: Magnussen clearly enjoyed the power he had over his young student and it was revolting to see how much the man revelled in it. John noticed that the tension in Scott’s neck and shoulders were still there as he met the older man’s gaze. 

He wanted to grab the Beta and pull him away from the disgusting old man. He wanted to shake his shoulder and tell him _I see what you mean! I know there are Alphas out there that deserve your hatred and distrust. But I’m not like them_.

But Scott wouldn’t believe him and John didn’t know how to prove him otherwise. Magnussen eventually stepped away from Scott, proceeding with the rest of his lecture. John listened absently, watching the stiffness in Scott’s shoulders, noticing with a strange kind of satisfaction that Scott was not taking notes like before. Instead, he seemed to be staring at his notebook, barely moving at all.

“Alright students, that’s all for today, “Magnussen announced eventually. “Next time we’ll be conducting a few experiments to witness the effect toxicants have on human cells firsthand. Which is why we’ll not be meeting up here but in the laboratories in Building HC. You’ll be provided coats, goggles as well as gloves, so you don’t have to bring anything apart from the usual pen and paper. Class dismissed.”

Everybody started talking and packing up their things. John’s gaze however was immediately drawn to Scott who pulled his bag over his shoulder and, after throwing a quick, wary glance in John’s direction, walked away swiftly. John stared after him but although his instinct told him to go after him and make sure that he was alright he didn’t. It seemed that Scott had already pegged him as an Alpha arsehole and it seemed improbable that he was going to change his mind. John had no idea how he could get the Beta to see the good in him and he was tired of trying. He had blown his chance with him, he had to accept that.

He knew it and still, he felt a pang of deep regret. There was this feeling deep inside him, as if there was something deeply gone wrong, something that he had to make right, but he had absolutely no idea how.

“So that was quite something, “Mike piped up from next to him. John shot him a look and Mike smiled weakly in sympathy.

“Hey, don’t look like that. You look like a dog that’s been through the pouring rain, “he said as he studied John looking at the door through which Scott had disappeared.

“Yeah, I know, I’m pathetic, “John murmured, as he dropped his gaze and started packing up his things.

“Nonsense, “Mike said firmly, “you just have a little crush that’s gone wrong. Don’t beat yourself up about it.”

“You heard what I said to him, right?” John asked, the heat returning to his voice. “Was I so wrong to tell him that?”

“No, “Mike said slowly. Then he tilted his head. “But it did anger him even more so maybe you should have avoided doing that…”

“Oh God, I knew it….”John groaned.

“It’s done, John. Nothing you could do about it. And I think you had a point there. He seemed awfully bitter. Strange for someone his age. Makes you wonder what he has experienced already.”

John turned to him, hopefully. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Apparently, he’s had some bad experiences with people, that’s why he reacted that harshly. But maybe I can make him see, Mike, maybe I can persuade him that it was only foolishness of me, not my general character. Not all Alphas are awful.”

Mike didn’t seem convinced. “But you tried. He didn’t even let you speak and it escalated quickly.”

“Yeah.” John’s shoulders slumped, and Mike looked sad.

“Come on. At least we did good in front of Magnussen. I think we can pass this class, maybe even earn some good marks, don’t you? Come on, let’s get lunch.”

John’s mood however was ruined and he groaned when he remembered what was next on their schedule as they walked through campus. Clinical medicine. Normally, he liked the subject. But the professor was strict and demanding and he didn’t think he had the mindset for it right now. He was just too diverted by Scott Williams.

_Just like last time. It cannot go one like this or I’m going to fail every single course this semester._

He sighed and just wanted to ask Mike if he knew what today’s subject would be - he would know because he was Mike - when he caught a familiar form standing behind the cafeteria, partially hidden by a couple of large columns and trees. It was Scott, but he was not alone. The two Alphas from Magnussen’s class were there too, standing in front of him, and John could tell from the way Scott held his body that this was not a friendly conversation.

“You go ahead and pick a table for us, “he said to Mike, making a quick decision.

Mike saw who he was looking at and sighed. “John. Do you really want to get involved?”

“They’re threatening him.”

“They’re just talking, aren’t they?”

“No, I don’t think so. Go. I’ll be joining you in a few minutes, Mike.”

Mike seemed reluctant but after another look from John, he shrugged and walked towards the cafeteria, knowing that there was no way to dissuade his stubborn Alpha friend from what he wanted to do.

John carefully approached the three students, taking advantage of one of the wide columns so that they wouldn’t see him coming. Soon he was close enough to be able to pick up what they were saying.

“Awfully interesting, “the taller Alpha in the elegant black coat was saying. John realized it was the one who had answered Magnussen’s question about Omegas, the one who the professor had called ‘’Mr. Trevor’. “Interesting to see you interested in Omega physiology like that. How come, Williams? You like pretty Omegas?”

Scott looked disgusted but at the same time also kind of bored. “Just piss off, Victor, “he said with a sigh, rolling his eyes in point-blank irritation. “I’m not interested in talking to you.” 

He tried to sidestep the taller man but the Alpha pushed a hand against his chest, keeping him where he stood against the wall.

“Strange that you would favour Omegas, “Victor said with a sneer. “I’d have pegged you for the type begging for an Alpha’s cock.”

Scott’s eyes flashed darkly as they pierced into Victor’s. “You wish.”

The other Alpha, as tall as Scott, but stockier, closed in on the Beta from the other side, sliding his arm up the wall close to his face. “Huh. He’s really pretty from up close. Don’t you think he’s pretty, Victor?”

Victor smiled lazily as he looked Scott up and down. “Maybe. Williams, you almost look like an Omega.” His eyes flickered down to Scott’s lips. “Is that the reason why you’re speaking up for them?”

“It’s not your concern, “Scott hissed as he roughly pushed Victor out of the way, taking a step away from the other two students, but the other Alpha grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

“Now come on, Williams, don’t be like that, “he said with a salacious smirk, “let’s have a little fun together.”

“What’s wrong with the brothels in town, Sebastian?” Scott asked heatedly, as he pulled himself free with a quick twist of his arm, “too expensive for you?”

Sebastian just smirked at him. “No, but I’m sick of stupid whores. I’m in the mood for something different.”

“It’s nice of you to think of me, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m a Beta.”

“Beta or not, you still got those cock-sucking lips, so what do you say?”

“Leave him be!” 

All three of them looked up in surprise as John approached them quickly, taking a place right next to a bewildered Scott. He was almost immediately hit with the other two Alpha’s scents, smelling of musk, leather, and gunpowder and he had to take a quick breath through his mouth to keep the rising nausea at bay. He could detect the arousal and excitement in their scents and he flexed his fingers when the urge to just punch both of them grew bigger. What helped to calm him down was the fainter scent of apples and almonds from Scott next to him.

“I think he asked you to leave him alone so fuck off, “John said to the Alpha called Sebastian.

Scott stared at him, a deep scowl on his face. “Stay out of this, I don’t need your help, ”he snapped.

But John ignored him, didn’t even look at him. He would not stand by and watch the Beta get harassed like that. Even if Scott didn’t appreciate his interference.

“Who are you?” Victor Trevor asked harshly. The Alpha’s eyes roamed over John’s body as if he was trying to measure his physical strength from mere visual judgment.

“John Watson, not pleased to meet you.”

“Alright, John Watson. Now fuck off.”

“I won’t.”

The annoying scent of musk and leather coming off of the other Alpha intensified and John could see that the man’s irritation was growing. 

“John.” Scott’s voice was hard but John’s inner Alpha preened with joy when he heard the Beta say his name. “Just leave, I can handle this.”

“I won’t leave you alone with these two.”

“I’m telling you, I don’t need your help.”

“No.” John crossed his arms in front of his chest as he looked from Alpha to Alpha, challenging them to do anything they weren’t supposed to do.

“Ooooh, seems I was right after all, “Victor eventually said with a triumphant smirk. “Our little Beta-baby has already found himself an Alpha. A true knight in shining armour, it seems.”

“Shut up!” Scott hissed, taking a step forward, but John quickly raised his hand to stop him from advancing on Victor. Then he swiftly stepped in front of Scott, shielding him from the other Alphas with his body. 

“I believe Scott has asked you to leave him alone. So leave him be, “he said, his voice dropping in increasing anger.

Victor’s glare was cold as he jerked his chin at him. “And what’s it to you?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just leave.”

The Alpha named Sebastian stepped up next to Victor, right into John’s face.

“What an arrogant bastard, “he snarled viciously. “You fuck off. This doesn’t concern you. We can do whatever we like.” 

John remained completely calm as the other Alpha almost spit at him while he was speaking. “You’re the one behaving like an arrogant fool, “he said with a raised eyebrow. “He asked you to leave. Are you deaf or too dumb to understand the words?”

“Why, you bloody ….”

Sebastian’s face went red and he took a step forward, his right hand raised in a fist when Scott’s voice rang out from behind them, deep and clear.

“Don’t embarrass yourself, Sebastian. The last time you fought another Alpha you had to flee with your tail tucked between your legs. It’s your right hook you know? It’s just not strong enough. Maybe you should take some boxing classes. Or maybe that’s not such a good idea. You’d risk losing more of your teeth and I wouldn’t recommend that after you’ve already lost two of them falling right on your face during that football game last term. Seems sports or fighting both are not your strong suits. A pity really, since you had hoped that physical skills would make up for the fact that your grades are just not good enough. At least not good enough to become a graduate assistant to Professor Keller. Failing in every area. Not very Alpha of you.”

All of them froze, staring at Scott with an open mouth. Sebastian’s face fell, then his cheeks turned pink in obvious embarrassment, but before he could say anything Scott’s head snapped towards Victor, his expression stony, his eyes hard.

“And you, Victor. Shouldn’t you be careful, trying to find someone to have sex with after what happened last week? Yes, I’m talking about the incident at Madame Martine’s where you snorted so much cocaine you weren’t even able to get it up, and that after you already paid for - what was it - three Omega prostitutes at once? A shame really, such a waste. And you really shouldn’t waste any more money, not after your father lost thousands of pounds investing in that Austrian firm that crashed at the stock market last month. You’re his beloved Alpha son, you really owe it to him to be less self-indulgent. But I see you’re still planning on snorting cocaine on a regular basis. Haven’t really learned your lesson then?”  


It looked almost comical, the way Victor’s face was red like a tomato, and John pressed his lips together at the sight of him.

“You’re going to regret that, Williams, “he growled as he took a step towards Scott, crashing into John in the process. Scott however, scoffed from where he stood behind John. 

“Just come at me Victor, if you like. I could take you.”

Victor locked eyes with John, his dark brown eyes burning with fury, the heavy scent of gunpowder engulfing them as one Alpha considered what to do and the other patiently waited for his decision. Eventually, Victor snorted.

“You’re not worth it, Williams.”

He turned and left, grabbing Sebastian’s sleeve to pull the reluctant-looking Alpha along.

John kept his eyes on the two departing Alphas, glaring at Sebastian when he scowled at them over his shoulder before quickly turning forward again.

As soon as they were gone, John turned to Scott. The Beta had a strange expression on his face, one that he wasn’t able to read.

He cleared his throat awkwardly. Scott looked up at him then, his pale eyes wary, but he said nothing.

“That could have gone really wrong, “John said eventually. “Tell me, do you have any sense of self-preservation?”

Scott scoffed and looked away, shaking his head as if he couldn’t’ believe what John was saying.

“Why?” he asked, his voice dripping with blatant sarcasm, “I did have you to protect me, didn’t I?”

“Scott.” John sighed and wearily rubbed his temple. He already sensed where this conversation was going.

“If I did something wrong again, I’m sorry. But you have to understand that I just couldn’t walk by when I saw those two cornering you.”

“But I had everything under control!” 

“They were two against one!”

“Still, I didn’t need your help.”

“This is ridiculous. I just wanted to help, you know.”

“Well, you needn’t have worried. I already told you: I’m not a helpless Omega. I can protect myself.”

John threw him an exasperated look, but Scott simply stared back at him, defying him to tell him anything different. 

_I’m not getting anywhere with this_ , John thought bitterly.

So he threw his arms up in the air.

“Alright. I’m sorry for trying to help, “he said grimly. “I’ll leave you alone then.”

“Yes, good idea, “Scott huffed, earning him another hard stare from John.

As John walked away from him, Scott called after him.

“Do you really think you’re any different than them? Because you’re not!”

John froze. Almost instantly he could feel the rage and frustration rising within him and he knew he had to get away from here before he turned and said something really bad. 

So he walked on, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, without looking back. This time, he had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong to make Scott angry with him. It seemed that with Scott Williams, all he ever did was wrong, no matter his good intentions.

Once again, he entered the cafeteria in absolute misery. He knew with certainty that his Monday way ruined and he couldn't help but slam the door behind him in a petty attempt to vent his anger.

 _I'll text Tonya tonight_ , he thought bitterly, as he angrily grabbed a plate. _Screw Scott Williams._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Exams are finally over, whew :) Somehow, this turned out a lot longer than I thought. On another note, this story is more and more turning from "Strangers to lovers" into "Enemies to lovers"... What do you think? I really hoped you enjoyed reading the new chapter. Ah yes, and Merry Christmas :)!


	4. Chapter 4

After his second - no third - unsuccessful encounter with Scott, John sulked for the rest of the day and locked himself inside his room when he returned, just like last time. Mike tried to talk to him through the door, but John declared that he didn’t want to discuss what had happened. If Scott thought he needed to behave like a total nutter, let him. He had really tried to make up for his mistake and he had genuinely wanted to protect the younger Beta when he had been threatened - no, sexually harassed - by those idiot Alphas. 

But gratitude apparently was a foreign word to Scott. He seemed to be quite immature, as well as unforgiving. Now that he thought about it, the way Scott had told him he was ‘lacking finances’, the kid seemed to be quite the opposite: his clothes were almost immaculate and seemed very expensive. His shoes, his bag, the products he obviously put in his hair - everything seemed to be of the finest quality, and the way Scott talked indicated a public school education too. Quite the posh, arrogant boy he had chosen to have a crush on.

_Ugh, a crush._

John’s frustration flashed up again and he went to bed early, deciding that he would go to a party the next day to have some fun. He would ask Tonya if she’d liked to go, too. He would not let one single, arrogant bloke ruin his whole semester.

“You’re up for a party tonight?” he asked Mike during breakfast the next morning. 

Mike raised an eyebrow over his usual bowl of cereal. “A party? On a Tuesday?”

“Yes, it’s the big one in the auditorium for all the science students. It’s always on the second Tuesday of the new semester, don’t you remember?”

“Ah, yes, that one.” Mike wrinkled his nose a bit. “But it’s the middle of the week, do you really think it’s a good idea, John? We’ll be tired tomorrow, probably hungover, too.”

“Ah, nonsense. We’ll avoid drinking too much and anyway, our first seminar starts at ten. That’s enough time for us to sleep and drink a nice Bloody Mary for breakfast.”

He made puppy eyes at his best friend. “Please, Stamford. I really need to go out tonight.”

“Yeah, alright, “Mike gave in with a smile. “But we’ll go home at midnight and if you want me to look out for you you need to listen to me when I tell you to stop drinking.”

“Deal.”

They grinned at each other. 

“I’ll text the others and ask if they wanna come too, “John said, already typing away on his phone.

“As if they would say no, “Mike commented, chuckling into his bowl as he scraped up the rest of his cereal. 

They all said yes, just like Mike had predicted and John was relieved. Yes, parties in the middle of the week always were a little risky because of a potential hangover. Every single seminar was important and he couldn’t afford to fail one. He didn’t want to slack off but he needed this distraction. His body was itching for some fun and he was going crazy sitting in his room, alone with his tedious thoughts. Besides, it was only the second week of the semester, and tests and essays were a long way off. He would still have time to catch up on anything he might have missed on the weekend. He had Mike, too. His conscientious friend would not fail to keep his promise and get them both home shortly after midnight. He really could be relied upon in that manner, had saved him a lot of trouble in the past.

He texted Tonya too, asking if she wanted to meet up at the party tonight. She immediately texted back, agreeing happily. Truthfully, he wasn’t in the mood for an intimate date, he actually just wanted to have some fun and get laid, if possible. After all that emotional chaos with Scott, he felt pent-up and he needed to vent some of his frustration in some way. But he thought that Tonya was looking for the same thing so he didn’t feel bad about his plans.

After his seminars ended he spent his afternoon diligently doing some homework and preparation for tomorrow’s classes. The evening came and he and Mike devoured some beans on toast while watching some silly soap opera on TV. It was probably best to have a full stomach before going to the party and thus avoid getting drunk within the first hour. 

He dressed in his most favourite jeans and a nice blue jersey shirt that accentuated his toned upper arms. A few dollops of gel into his dark blond hair, a splash of his favourite perfume blending well with his musky Alpha scent - and he was ready to go. Taking a look at himself in the mirror he smirked self-confidently. He was looking good and he knew it. Tonya would certainly think so as well.

They grabbed their jackets and made their way over campus to the huge Science Building where the party was being held. They paid the small entry fee, turned in their jackets, and went in. Inside, it was already packed with people, either dancing to the loud music in the middle of the room or standing at the side, holding drinks in their hands, chatting with each other. John and Mike slowly made their way towards the bar, aiming to get a drink first. 

“Hey, Watson, Stamford, there you are!” 

A hand roughly grabbed him by the shoulder and John turned around to see Greg Lestrade smiling at him. They pulled each other into a manly half-embrace and all said hi to each other. James Sholto was there, as was Bill Murray, and a few other blokes from the rugby team, too. 

Someone pushed a bottle of beer into his hand and they took to a corner of the room, observing the writhing mass of dancing people, chatting casually.

“Hey, John!”

John became aware of a hand tapping his shoulder and he turned to see Sarah Sawyer standing behind him, smiling shyly.

“Oh, hi Sarah, “he said, smiling back politely. “It’s nice to see you.”

She seemed delighted to hear him say that as her whole face lit up. “You too!” she said eagerly. “Do you wanna dance?”

“Oh.” 

If he was honest he wasn’t too keen on dancing. Well, not with Sarah anyhow. He knew she had had a crush on him since they had first met in a seminar on genetics in their second semester a year ago. They had been lab partners which meant that they had spent quite a lot of time together. It had soon become apparent that she was interested in him and she had always tried to get him interested in her as well - unfortunately for her, without any luck. She was a nice, pretty Beta girl, but she was kind of boring and they didn’t seem to have any common interests. He had tried to convey to her that he only wanted to be friends without hurting her feelings but he mustn’t have been clear enough for she still tried to get him to ask her on a date.

“Maybe later, alright?” he said gently, “I just got here and would like to have a few drinks with my friends first.”

Her face fell. “Oh, okay, I understand.” She looked very disappointed and he felt a pang of remorse. But encouraging her flirting didn’t seem fair, too, so he ignored it.

She went back to her friends and he turned back to Greg and James, engaging in some friendly banter with them. They seemed as keen on having fun tonight as he, as they were already checking out the people in the room for potential bedmates for this evening.

“That one seems nice, don’t you think?” James shouted into their ears. He was pointing at a girl in the middle of the dancefloor. She was tall and beautiful, her body moving gracefully to the rhythm of the music, and John nodded with a small whistle.

“Not bad, “he shouted back. “Go for it!”

James took a swig of his beer, pushed it into John’s hand, and entered the dancefloor, a determined look on his face. John and Greg watched in fascination as their Alpha friend addressed the girl confidently, after which both of them immediately started dancing together, their arms wrapped around each other.

“What about you?” John asked Greg after a moment of silence, nudging him in the side, “who do you fancy?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Greg shrugged. “Maybe that bloke over there?” 

John raised an eyebrow. “Oh, him? That’s Nathan from ‘Biochemistry II’, right? Isn’t he an Alpha?”

“He is.” Greg looked a little shy and John laughed.

“Hey, that’s alright. If you prefer big Alpha cocks over the average Beta ones, then go for it.”

“Hey!” Greg protested in an overplayed fashion, punching John lightly in the chest. “I’ll have you know that my ‘average Beta cock’ is very sizable, thank you very much.”

“Why are we talking about cocks?” Mike asked cheekily, coming to stand next to them with three fresh bottles of beer in his hands.

“I don’t know, ask John, “Greg answered with a sly grin. 

Mike rolled his eyes but laughed good-naturedly. “While we’re on that topic. Didn’t that girl of yours want to come too?”

“Yes.” John glanced at his watch. “She should be here any minute.” His phone blinked at this very moment and he pointed towards the exit. “She’s outside, I’ll just go and fetch her.”

He fought his way through the mass of people and went outside. Tonya was waiting in the queue with another girl, and her face lit up as soon as she saw John coming.

“John, hey, “she exclaimed, pulling him into a quick hug and kissing his cheek.

“Hey, Tonya. Great that you’re here. You look nice.” His tone was friendly, but he was a little irritated that she had already kissed him. They hadn’t even had a drink yet, let alone been on the dancefloor together. 

She did look nice though. Her long black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, she was dressed in a short black skirt and a red sleeveless top. Dark red lipstick accentuated her pretty mouth and John thought that she indeed looked hot. He shouldn’t be concerned with her casual intimacy, he was aiming for them to jump into bed together at the end of the evening, wasn’t he?

They went inside and immediately started to dance, at Tonya’s suggestion. A bubbly pop song was being played and she pulled him close, wrapping her arms around his neck suggestively. They moved to the rhythm of the song and John liked the feeling of her slim, warm body writhing against his, her faint scent of jasmine tickling his nose in a nice way. She was making it very clear that she liked him and he thought that he would have no trouble getting her to invite him to her room later that night.

But there was no need to rush things. After a few dances they decided to get some drinks and this time, he went for a vodka tonic instead of a beer. As of yet, the alcohol had almost no effect on him and he felt he needed to speed things up a little. He and Tonya were having fun, but he wasn’t completely in the mood for a tumble in the sheets yet, and getting smashed was a sure way to change that. Mike would not be happy but he would surely understand if John explained it to him later. 

They sat down on a couch in the corner and talked. She told him that she was a business major, that she wanted to become a personal assistant to a CEO if possible, and that she liked to travel.

While there had been some attraction between them on the dancefloor, he found himself getting less and less interested the longer she was talking. She was chattering on and on about her studies and her wealthy parents and even the last boyfriend she had, captain of the football team, that at some point he just lost focus.

“John, are you listening?” she asked eventually, pulling him out of his reverie.

“Uhm, yes, of course, “he said quickly, “you were telling me about your internship at BMW in Germany?”

“Right.” She continued her story and he was soon gone again. 

When she talked about traveling, he was reminded of the way Scott had deduced that he didn’t travel often because of his lack of tan lines and he wondered if the Beta liked to travel. The bloke was pale as a ghost, so it didn’t seem likely but who knew? In contrast to him, the Beta had money, that was obvious. Maybe he just didn’t like to travel? 

Then he realized he was thinking about Scott again and he scowled. Not this again. He was here to have fun, get drunk, dance, and maybe get laid, later on, not to sulk about Scott Williams again. How was this bloke weaseling his way into John’s mind yet again?

At that moment Tonya laughed coquettishly, placing her hand on top of his and he frowned.

_She’s making it so easy. This is no problem at all._

He noticed that Tonya’s drink was empty then.

“I’ll get you a new one, alright?” 

“Oh, okay, “she said with a small frown. “Oh, then I’ll go to the bathroom to check on my make-up.”

He nodded, relieved that he had an excuse to stay away a little longer, to catch up with his friends.

Maybe going home with Tonya wasn’t such a good idea tonight, he thought as he slowly pushed through the crowd towards the bar. He wasn’t really into it at this point. Ironically, he still wasn’t affected by the alcohol either as if fate had decided that he didn’t really need that tonight.

After he had gotten two new vodka tonics he started walking back to the couch where he and Tonya had sat when he saw Greg standing at the side, talking to a few people he didn’t know and he went over to them on a whim. 

“Hey, “he said, as he stood next to Greg.

“Oh John, hi, “Greg said, smiling. “What’s up with your date? Has she already rejected you?”

“No.“ John smirked back, “Everything’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

Greg studied his face for a moment, obviously trying to assess his friend’s mood, sensing that something was wrong. He didn’t comment on it, however. Instead, he pulled the arm of a small, brunette girl nearby to get her attention.

“Hey, Molly, I’d like you to meet someone. This is John Watson, one of my best friends. John, this is Molly Hooper, we have a few seminars together.”

The girl named Molly grinned as she and John shook hands.

“Oh yes, I know, John Watson, “she said, her eyes twinkling cheekily. 

“Ah, wait, “John said, his brow furrowed as he studied her face thoughtfully. “You seem familiar. Do we know each other?”

She chuckled, averting her gaze, seeming a little embarrassed. “Yes, I’m in your ‘Clinical Medicine’ seminar.”

“Ohhh, yes, right!” His eyes widened in realization. “Sorry, I didn’t realize!”

“No, that’s alright, “she said with a small wave of her hand “Don’t feel bad about it. I’m used to getting overlooked a little.”

He must have looked a little surprised because she smiled and leaned a little closer. “Because I’m an Omega, you know?”

“You’re an Omega?” he asked, his eyes widening even more, causing her to laugh at his reaction. “But…”

The auditorium was packed with people, the smell of sweat and alcohol permeating the air, making it harder than usual to catch anyone’s scent. But they were standing quite close to each other in order to be able to hear each other and he found that he couldn’t detect her scent. Weren’t Omegas supposed to stand out with their exceedingly sweet smell, unable to go unnoticed?

“Go on, “Molly challenged him with another laugh, “take a sniff, I can see you want to.”

He hesitated, not wanting to embarrass or insult her. But her smile seemed genuine, so he stepped forward a little, leaning in close to her, and took a small whiff of air. Now he could make out a faint scent that was quite nice: sweet, like vanilla, but it was quite faint.

He stepped back again. “You smell nice, “he said carefully, “but…”

“...but it’s very faint to you, right? More like the scent of a Beta?”

“Yes, “he admitted sheepishly, not knowing if he had insulted her. But the expression on her face was sympathetic and gleeful, instead of angry. 

“It’s because I’m bonded, you know?” she said, blushing prettily. “Before, my scent was much stronger, even with the suppressants I was taking. But then I got mated and now my scent has regulated itself. It’s what always happens with Omegas, it signifies they’re unavailable to others now. The scent only returns to its original intensity when the Omega is in heat. Didn’t you know?”

“I have to say I didn’t.” 

He had to restrain himself from staring at her. Now that he was standing right in front of an Omega, he couldn’t see what was so special about them. Sure, she was a pretty girl, but she could have been a Beta for all he knew and he wondered what else he didn’t know about them. He was suddenly filled with unbridled curiosity and he wondered if it was terribly impolite if he asked her some questions.

“I’ve got to admit, you’re the first Omega I’m meeting in person. How old are you, may I ask? Are you studying here on campus? What does your mate think about it? Are they not here?”

“Hold on, hold on, “she laughed, holding up the palms of both her hands. “You have a lot of questions.”

“I’m sorry, “he said, frowning at himself. “I’m just so awfully curious.”

“That’s alright.” She studied him thoughtfully, then she seemed to decide something. “Would you like to go outside and talk a little?” she offered, “ I could use some fresh air.”

“That would be great, thanks!” He beamed at her and she blushed which immediately made him reconsider his decision.

“Uhm...is your mate okay with this? I don’t want to get you into trouble.”

She looked surprised, obviously touched by his consideration of her personal situation. “It’s no problem at all, “she assured him, “Tom trusts me and he is a very understanding Alpha. If he weren’t, I wouldn’t be here. And he’s not here, by the way, he’s at home, working.”

The curiosity on his face must have been obvious is, because she grabbed his hand with another laugh.

“Come on, let’s go.”

They went outside to the terrace. There were a few people there, smoking and talking, but it was much quieter than inside the auditorium and they would be able to hear each other much better. Sipping their drinks, they slowly wandered towards the little Chinese garden in the back, walking side by side.

“I really hope this is okay, “John reiterated. “I have no idea if this is considered appropriate or not.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know. You’re a bonded Omega. I’m an unmated Alpha. It’s kind of rare for Alphas here on Campus to meet an Omega. So it’s kind of … well, amazing that I get to speak to you.”

“Oh, that’s sweet of you, “she cooed. “It’s really nice of you to worry, but you don’t seem like the type of Alpha that wants to get me into trouble, right?”

“No! I only want to talk. Honestly, I was wishing to meet an Omega for some time now, so that I could talk to them. But I don’t know anyone and there are so few Omegas on campus, I never met one of them.”

Her expression saddened. “Yeah, I know. It’s a shame…” She shook her head before her pretty smile re-appeared on her lips. “So, what do you wanna talk about?”

“Oh, there’s a lot.” John wracked his brain for the most important things to ask. “Tell me about yourself maybe? I’ve just recently realized how little I know about Omegas, and to be honest, I feel a little ashamed. Just because I don’t know any personally, doesn’t mean they’re not important. You exist, but I almost don’t know anything about you. So, I’d be interested in how your everyday life is like. You’re studying medicine, right? Why? How did you get to meet your mate? What is his stance towards your Omega status? How does it feel like to be bonded?” 

Her smile widened as his questions accumulated and he stopped himself, shrugging with a helpless grin on his lips.

“It’s no problem, “she repeated. “It’s nice to see an Alpha interested in Omegas like this. So, hm, where to start? I come from a little town called Corbridge, it’s about an hour away from Durham. My parents are both Betas. I presented when I was sixteen, and I was able to pass my A-levels two years later. After that, I worked in a kindergarten for a year because I had no mate yet and I wanted to work, do something useful.”

“Is that normal?” John asked curiously. “For Omegas to get a job immediately after school?”

“Well, not always, “she said, her tone turning wistful. “Many Omegas get married off quickly after they present and then they have kids and stay at home. Most parents look out for potential partners during their children’s adolescence, search for the ones with good jobs and a respectable background, you know? So that their children are well cared for. It’s why many young Omegas get mated to older, sometimes much older Alphas.”

John grimaced at the thought of older Alphas getting involved with teenager Omegas. “That sounds...dubious.”

“Yeah, it most definitely is, “she murmured, sounding sad again.

“But your parents were not like that?” he asked quickly to divert her attention back to something less uncomfortable.

“No, thank God.“ She beamed at him. “My parents are incredible. They married out of love and they always wanted me to be with someone I love too. they were worried when I presented as an Omega, but only because they knew how dangerous it can be. They didn’t want me to get mated to some superficial, ignorant Alpha who doesn’t really care for me. So they watched out for potential partners and they set up a few dates but they would never have forced me to be mated to anyone I didn’t want.”

“Would they have the right to do so?” John asked curiously.

“Yes. Omegas don’t have many rights, “she said sadly. “Even when we become adults, our parents are the ones who decide about everything: bank account, car, flat, insurance - everything was in their name. Only when Omegas bond with an Alpha do the rights get transferred to their mates.”

“What?” I didn’t know that!” John stopped in his tracks, and stared at her, truly aghast. “That is so unfair! How can the government allow all this?”

“They are the ones who made the laws, “she said bitterly. “They don’t want Omegas to walk around unmated, it’s unethical, they claim. They want Omegas to mate early, bear as many children as possible and take care of them because that’s their role in life.”

“You cannot be serious!” John was shocked. “How had he not known about all this? Here he was, a privileged Alpha male, studying medicine, going about his life like he wanted, with all the freedom and carelessness possible. How could he not have known that there were so many individuals out there that didn’t even own the right to open a bank account in their own name?

“I am, “Molly said, looking at him sharply. “Didn’t you hear about the Omega Protection Act from four years ago? They took almost all Omega’s rights away, claiming it was for the good of the nation. It’s because birth rates have dropped significantly, Beta fertility has decreased significantly which is why they’re depending on Omegas to increase the birth rates again.”

“So they’re practically forcing you into a bond because otherwise you would be bound to your parents for the rest of your life?”

“Yes.”

“Jesus.” he ran a hand through his hair. “That’s terrible. Really. So I hope it’s not too indiscreet to ask, but...how did you get bonded?”

They resumed walking down the small path, surrounded by beautiful pink and yellow rose bushes.

“I was extremely lucky, “Molly answered and John could hear the gratitude in her voice. “My parents have these friends, they live a few towns away and only visit once every often. One Easter, they came over and they brought their son with them, Tom. He was 22 and I was 19. He was an unmated Alpha. He has his own repair shop, for motorcycles you know and he works hard, he’s always at the shop and he usually doesn’t go out. And well… we sort of hit it off right at the beginning. I don’t want to say it was love at first sight, because that sounds kind of lame...but well. We had a few dates and it was just so wonderful. He asked me to mate him after half a year of dating.”

“Half a year?” John gasped. “That’s very early:”

She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. “On the contrary. It was very late and had we waited any longer, it would have looked very suspicious. God, you really don’t know anything, “she said, as she shook her head at him with a little laugh.

“It seems like it, “he admitted, his cheeks hot with embarrassment. “So. You’re happy with him?”

Molly’s whole face lit up, her answer to his question obvious. “Oh yes!” she exclaimed. “He is the love of my life and I’m incredibly grateful that I met him. He is such a kind and gentle man. He treats me right, he loves me and he would never let anything happen to me. When I told him I wanted to become a doctor, he was immediately enthusiastic and he encourages my studies. He wants me to have a job, earn my own money, and be happy. We can have children later, he says.”

“That sounds great, “John conceded, “but doesn’t it irk you that you need his permission to go to university? Or to do anything at all, that is”

“Oh, it does! Of course, it does, but I cannot change the facts and it’s not Tom’s fault that the laws are as stupid as they are.”

“So you’d be allowed to be a doctor when you have your degree?”

“Yes, but only with my mate’s written consent and only if I’m able to find an employer who is willing to hire Omegas.”

“Why would anyone be unwilling to do so?”

“Because it’s expensive. Health insurance for Omegas is much more expensive than for Alphas and Betas. It’s because we get sick more often, because we need heat leave, because we need suppressants and because we go on maternal or paternal leave. Not many employers are willing to pay that extra sum.”

John was appalled. “But...that’s preposterous! The government should support companies financially, help them pay Omega’s wages so that they wouldn’t be willing to exclude them from a position just because of their gender.”

“Sometimes companies have Omega quotes, but they are very rare. The government doesn’t want Omegas to work, remember? They want Omegas to stay at home and take care of the many kids they bore. Raise strong Alphas and Betas that can do the ‘real’ work.”

Something in her voice had changed and it made John stop again and study her intensely. When she noticed that he had stopped she looked back at him, raising her brows, asking him what was wrong silently.

“I can see you’re bitter about this, “he stated matter-of-factly.

She scoffed, her jaw clenched and he could see her small hands pulling at the belt loops of her jeans, rising frustration and restlessness piercing through the veil of her calm exterior. Her dark brown eyes pierced into him.

“How couldn’t I be?” she asked, sudden heat in her voice seeping through. “It’s all so unfair and I’m just one of the few lucky ones that met a decent Alpha who isn’t afraid to have his Omega mate get a real education and a real job later on. It won’t even be my money I am going to earn, but his! Of course, Tom says in hits eyes it’s mine and I can buy anything I want with it, but technically, it’s his money!”

She paused, her face red with the anger she had worked herself up into. John watched in sympathy and fascination as she took a deep breath, looking away from him. Her display of anger was a little different than he was used to seeing on others, or even on himself: she was more subtle, less obvious in her fury. She wasn’t yelling or gesturing wildly, her posture markedly non-aggressive in every way. But still, it was there and he could see that it was just as strong and justified as in any other person and something within him stirred. It wasn’t right that she was being treated like this just because she was an Omega. It wasn’t right that she didn’t have the same rights as anyone else, and his inner Alpha howled at the injustice. 

When Molly spoke up again, still not looking at him, her anger had receded, her voice low and doleful. “I had a friend once, “she murmured. “My best friend, actually. Her name was Helen. She was an Omega too, we almost presented at the same time. But her parents were not as nice as mine. They were determined to have her married to a wealthy Alpha, they were in it for the money. Although they are not called dowries anymore, many families get paid quite a lot of money for their Alpha offspring to get married to an Omega by their parents. It’s inhumane, but….yeah, they’re still doing that. So, Helen’s parents, they found an Alpha for her right after she finished school. Forty-four years old. Some big shot in some huge firm, I don’t know which one. They got married and mated, although she begged her parents not to force her to…..”

She broke off, looking distressed and John could detect the faint smell of rain in her scent.

“You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to, “he said quietly.

“I want to, “she answered heatedly, looking up at him again. “It’s just...so hard to remember this. Sometimes I just want to forget this ever happened, but then I want to hit myself for my selfishness. She suffered so much, how could I forget this and shame her like that?”

She stayed silent for a while. Then she resumed walking and John took his place next to her, waiting patiently until Molly spoke up again.

“She got pregnant after a few months. At that point we rarely talked anymore, her husband only allowed her a phone call once every two weeks. She was miserable. I wanted to help her, but … what could I do? She eventually sneaked out and tried to get an abortion but he caught her and …. well, it was bad. He locked her inside her room for the rest of the pregnancy, had her force-fed and tied to the bed so that she wouldn’t hurt herself.”

John stared at her in disbelief. “Oh God, that is … horrible!”

“Yes, I know. She bore him two healthy twin sons. Both of them Alpha. But she was never the same afterward. She is in a mental institution now. He broke the bond with her and lives with a new wife now, a Beta, as well as the boys. He has all he wanted from her. I visit her from time to time, but she doesn’t talk much, and … I’ve got to admit, it’s depressing, so I don’t go as often as I should.”

“It’s not your fault she is unwell, “John said quietly, trying to say something nice.

“I know, but...still.”

They had circled the Chinese garden and were back at the terrace where all the other people were. Both of them stopped and looked at each other awkwardly in silence. After what Molly just had told John, nothing they could have talked about now seemed decent.

“Molly!”

They turned to see a red-haired girl at the door to the auditorium wave at them, then indicate her watch silently.

“Oh, that’s my friend Billy, “Molly exclaimed. “She probably has been looking for me, I promised we would go dancing some more.” She looked at her watch, her eyes widening. “Goodness!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” John immediately said. “I didn’t want to keep you away from your friends all night!”

An honest smile spread out on her face as she lightly patted his hand. “That’s alright. I offered, and it was kind of nice to have a real chat with someone. But I promised Tom I would be home at midnight at the latest, and I wanted to go dance with my friends a little more.”

“Of course. Let’s go back inside.”

They did. Before they parted ways, Molly hugged him, the sweet scent of vanilla more noticeable to him in their sudden closeness.

“Thanks for listening to my story.”

“No, ”he said firmly, “thank you for telling me all of this. I really had no idea it was so bad.”

She let go of him and smiled. “If you want to talk about this some more, just ask. We have that class together, remember?”

“Ah yes! I really think I will. See you next Monday then!”

“See you!”

She left with another quick smile at him and he made his way through the masses to find his friends again. They were standing at the bar and he left his empty glass at the counter before he took his place at their side.

“John!” Mike and Greg greeted him with a grin and pulled him closer. “Where the heck were you?”

John chuckled, amazed at his friend’s forgetfulness. “I was with Molly, you saw us going out didn’t you?”

“What?” Greg looked at him in disbelief. “You were away for a whole hour!”

“Was I...oh…..Oh!”

John realized in shock that he had been on a sort of date with Tonya. He looked around wildly, trying to find the girl among the blur of people dancing and standing around but there was no sight of her.

“No chance, mate,” Mike said as he shook his head, grinning at his friend’s remarkable blunder. “She’s long gone.”

“What? Why?” John asked, frowning when his friends snorted with laughter clasping each other’s shoulders. Apparently, in contrast to him, they were affected by the alcohol they had been drinking. 

“Because you stood her up, you berk, “Greg said, taking a deep breath, wiping his eyes. “She was looking for you but we could hardly tell her you were outside with another girl, couldn’t we?”

John was at a loss. “But...I was with Molly. I wasn’t going to do anything with her. She’s bonded, you know that! We only talked.”

“Well, still...you were gone so long, “Greg said with a shrug. “Didn’t seem like you were any interested in going back on that date with her.”

“Why didn’t you come and get me?”

His exasperated cry was met with a deadpan face from Mike. “Mate. We didn’t know where you were. Besides, we didn’t want to interrupt your talk with Molly. It must have been interesting if you stayed away that long.”

“Oh God, I’m such an arse.” John rubbed his temples, closing his eyes, as he realized his mistake. 

“Right you are, “his mates said unanimously, and John shook his head, crestfallen in his shame. He pulled out his phone and his heart shrunk when he saw that Tonya had texted him, half an hour ago.

 ** _Thanks for nothing, arsehole._**

Christ, he should apologize. He didn’t know how he could have just forgotten about her. He had come here with the intention of getting drunk, getting laid...well, that hadn’t exactly happened.

“Don’t worry, John. There are other fish in the pond, you know,” Greg said, indicating the crowd of dancing people with his bottle of beer. “You’ll find another minx to have fun with.”

“Uh, I don’t think so,” John said with a shrug. “In fact, I’m leaving. You coming with?”

Mike agreed to join him although it was only eleven o’clock. Greg stayed, hoping to get his hands on the Alpha from before, promising to tell John if he had succeeded the next day.

///

That night, John lay awake again, staring at the ceiling. He was deeply impressed by everything Molly had told him and he was still astonished that he had never known about the lives of so many people in this world, even if they were the minority in contrast to Alphas and Betas. A small voice inside his mind told him that Scott was right: he was a selfish, entitled Alpha. If he weren’t he would have bothered catching up on current Omega laws.

But what really occupied him, was the thought that maybe he had found an answer to why Scott was so fed up with Alphas; a reason for his decision not to trust them anymore. He clearly hated Alphas with all his heart and it suddenly seemed apparent that there was a very logical explanation for that: An Alpha had hurt an Omega that he loved. A parent, a sibling, or a friend. It could be any of these options or something else even. It didn’t matter.

If someone had hurt someone Scott loved then it was understandable - in whatever way - that Scott felt entitled to judge all Alphas. Whatever had been done to the Omega close to him - it must have been horrible - so horrible that Scott had simply decided never getting near another Alpha ever again.

It calmed John, thinking that he may have found his answer to this intriguing puzzle. Because if he was right, he could understand Scott very well. It still seemed rather radical, deciding something like that - but it would make him very human, and after the harsh, cold treatment he had given John, it seemed nice to think of him that way. John wanted to know who exactly had been hurt and what role Scott had played in all this. But he couldn’t just ask, could he? 

Still, he was determined to find out the details behind all this. Now that he had an angle he couldn’t just leave this unaddressed.

With this decision forming in his mind, his eyes closed shut as he finally surrendered to sleep, the apology he had wanted to text Tonya completely forgotten.

///

The next Monday came and John and Mike headed up to Building HC. Mike was excited that they would be conducting an experiment today and he happily chattered away about the dissection of a human liver he had performed in a class last week. John listened to him with one ear, but his mind was focussed on something entirely different, his stomach churning at the idea of seeing Scott again.

He was torn between the stubborn decision to ignore Scott and his childish ways and the desperate wish to get to know the beautiful Beta, despite all these unlucky, uncomfortable encounters the two of them already had gone through. 

After his enlightening conversation with Molly, he was dying to know if his suspicions about the Beta and his background were true and he had wracked his brain all week, trying to think of a way to get to the truth without being too obtrusive.

But he knew he couldn’t just walk up to the bloke and ask him if he had a relative or even a lost love who was an Omega who had been mistreated by an Alpha in some way.

He knew that speaking to Scott again would be a terrible idea and he had resolved not to do so. But he also knew that he couldn’t rely on his rationality because he knew from past experience that his brain tended to go offline at the sight of the pale young man with the beautiful dark curls and the ridiculously full lips. He had acted upon instinct the two last times he had seen him. Who knew if he wouldn’t do something similar stupid again today?

So it was with a fluttering stomach and anxious fingers rapidly drumming on the thick leather of his bag that he walked the corridors alongside Mike. Shortly before they reached the laboratories, he spotted Scott from afar, identifying his tall, lean form almost immediately. The young Beta was leaning against the wall in the corner with his hands in the pockets of his black blazer, looking incredibly bored as stared at the phone in his hands, waiting for their seminar to start.

The second John saw him his heart started to pound in his chest and he quickly looked the other way, trying to concentrate on Mike’s words.

Mike hadn’t noticed his lack of attention and just kept on talking, gesturing wildly with his hands in his enthusiasm. John was tense as he tried to focus on his friend, and he was thankful for the other students standing in numbers between him and Scott, creating a sort of safety barrier between them.

A few minutes later, the door to the lab opened and two older students, Magnussen’s assistants, beckoned them all in. One after the other, they were given a lab coat, nitrile gloves, as well as safety goggles. Professor Magnussen was waiting at the back of the room, watching them get their equipment with his arms crossed in front of his chest, his lips pressed into a tight line. His presence was taking up the whole room, impatience and condescendence rolling off of him naturally. It caused the muscles in John’s face to tense as he fought down the urge to scowl at the unfriendly Alpha - the unpleasant memory of how the Professor had taken his pleasure threatening and belittling Scott in class last week still fresh in his mind.

His hackles rose however when he recognized Victor and Sebastian standing at the start of the queue, immediately feeling his inner Alpha soar and he swallowed his anger down. It wouldn’t be very prudent to growl at fellow students, probably only resulting in him getting thrown out.

Scott would not be impressed either. The Beta had already received all his equipment and was standing a few meters away. He had donned the lab coat over his black ensemble of clothes, and despite everything, John’s lips curled up as he stole a glance at the adorable sight, the slightly too-big coat swamping the young Beta’s thin frame.

“Alright, students, let’s begin, “Magnussen announced, as he pushed himself off the wall, clapping into his hands to get everyone’s attention. 

“Today, we’re going to have a look at the effect of various poisons, specifically the effect of zootoxins on human cells. To make this experiment a little easier we’re going to experiment exclusively on Omega tissue.” 

His eyes flicked across the room towards Scott, a small condescending smile playing on his thin lips. “It’s not to make a point or anything like that if you’re concerned. It’s just that the effects are most visible in Omega samples and I thought it would be easier for you students to observe all the effects on the cells, after all, you’re still beginners.”

Scott met Magnussen’s eyes with remarkable composure, showing absolutely no reaction to his words on his face. Magnussen’s smile widened before it vanished, and the man’s gaze left the young student. 

“First, we’re going to divide the class into four groups which in turn will be divided into pairs. Each group will work with the poisons by the same three animals, namely: the _Scolipendra_ centipede, the _Callista_ shellfish, as well as the moray eel. One group of six students will therefore consist of three pairs, each working on a different poison. Each group is going to share one of the large workplaces here and as you can see, there are three tables centered around one workplace where you will find the equipment you need. Each pair will work at one table but I want you to experience this in a group. Everyone is supposed to participate and watch and learn from what the others are doing.”

The Alpha’s eyes narrowed.

“One thing: the equipment is very expensive and I ask you to treat it with the utmost caution. Understood?”

Everybody nodded.

“Alright, the tables are assigned by surnames. My assistants will explain who will go to which workplace.”

One of the assistants stepped forward and read from his notes: “Workplace 1: Acell, Billinger, Donelly, Gilroy, Grant, Hill. Workplace 2: Hummel, Jenkins, Jones, Killroy, Maxwell, Miller. Workplace 3: Newton, Novak, Owen, Park, Sawyer, Stamford. Workplace 4: Tanks, Trevor, Umbridge, Watson, Wilkins, Williams.”

Mike shot John a regretful look. They wouldn’t be lab partners like usual. John, however, was more concerned with the fact that he would share a workplace with Victor and Sebastian….as well as Scott.

_What are the odds..._

The students all took to their assigned workplaces and started to pair off. John reluctantly shuffled over to Workplace 4 as well, nodding gratefully when a blonde Beta he vaguely recognized as Mason Umbridge stepped forward to ask him if they wanted to be partners. He frowned when he saw Victor and Alpha standing a little bit away from them, smirking first at him arrogantly before they turned to fix Scott with an almost hungry stare. Scott was ignoring all of them as he found his place at the table with a bored expression on his face, automatically being paired off with the last student of the group, a tall Beta girl named Samantha Tonks.

After being instructed on how to conduct their experiment by Magnussen’s assistants, the students got started. They put on the protective equipment and took the tools they needed from the table in the center of their respective workplaces. John and Mason had been assigned the _Callista_ shellfish and they quickly sorted out that John would apply the poison to the sample of human cells while Mason would take notes, observing the initial reaction to the toxin. Then both of them would take a look at the sample under the microscope and gather their results to discuss them with the others. 

John was really trying to focus on the experiment. It was helpful that his lab partner was quite clueless and he needed to explain everything he did in detail, laying out the instruments as he worked. But although he really tried not to, his eyes kept flitting at the table diagonally opposite theirs, where Scott was working with Samantha. John could see that Scott was getting impatient with the other Beta, his eyes rolling dramatically as he snapped at her to write something down and for a moment he pitied her. He thought it was mean of Scott to treat the poor girl like that just because she wasn’t as quick and clever as him, but at the same time he wondered what would happen if he and Scott were lab partners: would they work well together, Scott appreciating John’s efficient, clean way of handling the tools, his quick way of thinking? Or would he snap at him as well, resulting in John snarling back viciously because he would bite his arm off before he would allow Scott to treat him like he had again?

It was an interesting image to think about and the time passed as they both turned their focus on their now poisoned sample, scribbling down notes as they took turns at the microscope.

Victor and Sebastian on their other side seemed to be having no problems conducting their experiment as well and John’s irritation re-surfaced when he noticed the two Alphas elbow each other in the side, whispering and laughing quietly.

At that moment, Magnussen clapped in his hands again, and all students stopped what they were doing to look at him.

“Alright students. Now I want you to gather at everyone’s tables one after another and have a look at your experiments. Each pair will explain to the others what reactions in their sample they have observed and what their respective scientific explanations for those observations are. Start with the _Scolipendra_ centipede. I will go round to each workplace and listen to your explanations.”

John grimaced as he and Mason walked over to Victor and Sebastian’s table. He tried to ignore the way Scott went out of his way to stand at the direct other side of the table so that he was nowhere near John. It stung but he understood. He tried not to let it show on his face in favour of concentrating on what Victor was saying.

The tall Alpha was smug as he explained what he and Sebastian had done with their centipede sample, while Sebastian indicated every single thing Victor was talking about. They had done good work, John saw at once. He dared a quick glance at Scott and saw that the other student barely seemed to be listening, the way he was glancing at the wall or the side, his face showing off his boredom with unashamed candidness.

John and Mason were on next and he explained everything they had done in a calm and efficient manner. At one point, he caught Victor and Sebastian smirking at each other and he sighed as he stopped his explanations mid-sentence with a sigh.

“Something you wanted to say?” he asked them, raising his eyebrow.

“No, no, go on, “Victor said with a wide grin, “seems you have mastered your experiment. Congrats!”

“I don’t need your false compliments, “John hissed at him and he knew that his scent must have spiked when he heard Mason inhale sharply next to him. “Sorry, “he murmured, quietly, so that only Mason could hear him. He only wished he could wipe off that smug smile from the other Alpha’s faces. His arrogance was unbearable.

_What is he laughing about anyway?_

When they came to the last table of their group, Scott explained their experiment with the moray eel poison in his smooth, sonorous voice. At the first words out of his full mouth, John’s heart leapt and his knees went weak. The way Scott talked, the way his body moved, fluid and effortless as he indicated the sample he was talking about, casually rendering his lab partner superfluous that way - it was incredibly impressive. He was made to be a scientist, that much seemed obvious. But he also gave off the air of an artist, showing off his magic trick, seducing everyone with his witty elaborations. The fact that his pale blue eyes shone in sincere admiration for the animal’s dangerous defense mechanism added to the overall attractiveness of the Beta, as did the way he bit his lower lip when he paused to catch his breath.

John could have listened to the man talking about dying human tissue all day and he belatedly realized he was staring at the younger Beta when he heard the other Alphas next to him snigger. He turned to glare at them and from the corner of his eye, he could see Scott frown at them too. The Alphas ignored them, but visibly forced themselves to quiet down and Scott resumed his explanations, concluding his little presentation with a slight nod of his head and a strained smile.

They were just about to retake their places at their own table when a sudden loud crash made them all turn in their tracks.

John’s eyes widened when he looked at the ground: the microscope from Scott and Samantha’s table had dropped to the floor, shattering into hundreds of pieces of glass and steel. It was a mess. Suddenly, it was eerily quiet in the room as everyone stared at the destroyed microscope.

But John had seen who had caused the microscope to fall down: it had been Sebastian who had shoved the expensive tool from the table as he passed it, then quickly had stepped around Mason, away from the destroyed instrument on the ground. It was Scott who was standing directly in front of the microscope now, staring at it with wide eyes and parted lips, as if trying to comprehend what just had happened.

“What have you done, you fools?” Magnussen thundered as he quickly rushed over to their table.

He stopped to stand at Scott and Samantha’s table and stared down at the destroyed microscope, his eyes flashing with unbridled ire. The air was suddenly heavy with the spicy, smokey scent of a furious Alpha and most Beta students instinctively ducked their head in silent submission, while the Alpha students lowered their eyes accordingly.

“Are you serious? I told you to be careful!” Magnussen bellowed. “Do you know what a microscope like this costs? Are you all idiots? Who is responsible for this mess?” 

His gaze fell on Scott who looked up at the taller man, horror dawning in the grey-blue eyes. 

“Williams! I should have known it would be you! What are you, an imbecile? Too bloody nervous to keep your hands steady? Or did you maybe want to destroy it to demonstrate your aversion to experimenting on Omega samples? That’s it, isn’t it? You did this on purpose didn’t you?”

“No!” 

Scott was obviously shocked at the blunt accusation and his eyes widened even further when the professor stepped forward to loom over him with narrowed eyes.

“Well either that ór you are incredibly clumsy. How come it is always you making trouble in this class? I swear if you’re doing this on purpose..”

“But...But I didn’t…” 

Scott was pale as a sheet now, as he was staring up at the professor. Sudden heat coiled in John’s belly as he saw the genuine fear in Scott’s eyes at the Alpha glaring down at him, the older man’s right hand raised half-way, almost as if he wanted to strike him and he had to restrain himself from simply tackling the older man in order to get him away from the Beta. 

From the corner of his eye, he saw Victor and Sebastian smirk at each other and he was a second away from stepping forward, to tell the truth when he stopped himself. It was a lost cause. Magnussen had made no secret out of the fact that he liked the two Alphas and he would never believe John if he told them who was really responsible.

“I swear, Williams, “Magnussen said, his voice dangerously low now, “I’m really getting fed up with you and your inappropriate behaviour. If you think you can just step in here and wreak havoc as if..”

“But it wasn’t him!” 

Everyone in the room stared at John as he stepped forward, his head held high. 

“It was me.”

Magnussen slowly turned away from Scott, focussing his cold eyes on John instead. “You?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes, “John confirmed with a quick nod, glad for the strength in his voice. “I was just going over to my table and I accidentally touched the microscope with my elbow when I passed by. I’m terribly sorry, Professor, there’s no excuse.”

Magnussen squinted at him warily, glancing at Scott again before he sighed and straightened. “Alright, Watson. You must really watch out better. I don’t think our insurance covers this, so I’m going to have to ask you to pay for this.”

John swallowed, knowing this would be hard on his monthly allowance but he nodded nevertheless. “Of course, Professor.”

Magnussen indicated the broken glass and steel on the floor. “Very well then. Get yourself a dustpan and clean this mess up.” He stepped away from their group, dismissing them all without apologizing to Scott or taking as much as a glance at him or John again.

John’s cheeks felt hot as he went to the big cupboard in the corner f the laboratory to fetch the dustpan. Luckily for him, everyone was talking with each other again and he could clean up the mess on the floor without the spotlights turned onto him. He knelt down on the floor to clean up the broken microscope right at Scott’s feet and he could practically feel the Beta’s eyes pierce into his neck but he ignored this. Now was not the time to start a conversation.

On his way to the bin he caught Victor’s eye and his mouth tightened when he saw the Alpha glare at him in open hostility. He rose an eyebrow as he threw the shards into the bin, meeting the Alpha’s challenge and for a second they held each other gazes, the tension rising between them across the room. Then it was over and John put away the dustpan again.

They were asked to clean everything up shortly afterwards. John saw that Scott was stealing a glance at him every now and then and he resisted the urge to smile into the collar of his coat at the unexpected but very welcome attention. Instead, he cleaned up their table with a neutral expression on his face, and when the bell rang, Magnussen asking them to leave, he grabbed his bag and walked straight out the laboratory, Mike hurrying to take his place at his side. 

“What was that all about?” his friend asked excitedly, elbowing John to get his attention as they walked down the corridor towards the exit.

“Not now, “John hissed as he kept his face forward, forcing himself not to look back. 

It was hard. Everything within him screamed at him to stop and take the opportunity to talk to Scott again. But he didn’t. 

Back in the laboratory, he had seen that Scott was staring after him as he left the room and he had resisted the urge to stop and address the Beta again. If Scott wanted to talk to him, he could. But he would have to be the one to initiate a conversation this time because John refused to be snapped at yet again.

_Let him come to me for once._

They were just a few meters away from the exit when a deep voice called out after him.

“John! Wait!”

He stopped at once. Relief and joy flooded through him as he turned to see who had called after him although naturally, he already knew. 

It was Scott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter, please let me know.
> 
> Happy New Year everyone! 😊


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